In The Maze Of Mirrors
by MyGildedCage
Summary: Harry has answered for the Dursley's sins. Everything is redundant, and running hurts so bad. Being Edit and Revised rated for: Rape, Child Abuse, self injury & suicidal thoughts, violence
1. Prologue: Understand me

The Maze of Mirrors

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any other copyrighted material and I am making no profit.

PROLOGUE:

It has been said that Gryffindors are brave, the ever courageous and loyal righteous side of light. It is also sneered in hushed tones that Slytherins are cowards; that we flock to the dark as moths do to the flame, they all seem to forget a certain rat, and the marauders...the ever righteous marauders...of course not all of them were bad. It was just the one: Pettigrew, his whole life spent as a rather dull and neglected boy. He found solace in the one thing all Gryffindors were supposed to hate. It was mildly amusing to me to see him shame his house without them ever knowing.

Gryffindors speak loudly of their everlasting loyalty. Even now as I watch from a far, I see the so-called 'loyalty' of Potter's friends. They are not so unlike Pettigrew the rat I have seen scurrying beneath destinies ever rotted feet. They sit so close and cant see the boy with unruly hair, all they see is 'Potter' as a god forsaken name, not a real boy but a hero, a martyr.

Now I look at the boy who is the same age as I and I am starting to see what he really his. He is powerless,. He is a wraith, a mere shadow of his supposed glory. It frightens me to see him this way, he is supposed to be my enemy, my great rival, and yet he is no more than a child. Then once this thought is firmly set in my mind he looks at me with those sad eyes pleading for something, possibly solace from this fate that has been set on his frail shoulders. He is much too thin, too short, too tired.

I too have a fate set from birth. I am to be no more to my father than a shell, than an heir and a tool. I know my fate and Potter knows his. Yet as I watch his friends seem completely oblivious to theirs. They are to be the support for our hero in his darkest hour. They are supposed to lift him upon their shoulders when he succeeds and let him cry on theirs when it gets to be too much. Now he has no hope because he has no friends. He is meant to have friends, is meant to have those who love him so he has something to fight for. I have nothing, and I know now that I was never supposed to have anything. Now that he has no friends we are on an even field of battle. Now that he is alone in this crowded room will he die in battle, will I prevail as I fear and hope, and pray and curse?

A curse would be most likely. I do not want to die, but if it means killing the only person ever to fight back, the only one who ever made me alive and challenged, could I do it? Could I kill Harry Potter? A boy my same age, my distorted reflection?

He is more than my bloody reflection he is the essence of me, he is the soul where that hole in my being resides, he is the same as I, and could I truly kill my self?

The question races at the forefront of both our minds I know. The time draws near and neither of us is more than a mere child, both of us placed in an impossible maze not unlike the third task, and just the same as then one or both of us wont come back out of this the same.


	2. Lambs and Happy Daggers

The Maze of Mirrors

CHAPTER 1: Lambs and Happy Daggers

Harry's POV:

I woke this morning, before dawn had broken on the birds and plants that surround Hogwarts, with a scream and the feeling of falling fast. I started my day with the pit of my stomach dropping like going into a steep dive on my broom. I had not woken from a vision since the beginning of term and now it is a week before holidays.

I am finally grasping Occlumency. Now that I have no distractions. I mean to say I have distractions, but none of the trivial things matter much now. Who cares what I got on that homework assignment in Potions, or what I did in Herbology last week. War is more important than my life anyways.

Ron and Hermione are now together, meaning I am not included. It was starting to grate on my nerves when they kept fighting and bickering. I know I am supposed to be supportive and glad for them. It does nothing but make my stomach clench to see them together. I have no one, and I mean no one. Not a single fucking soul wants me, female or male. I had Cho, maybe not had. I mean our first, and only, date was spent with her bitching about Cedric and then she got pissed and jealous when I went to find Hermione for something important, I swear she has a twisted mind.

Then there was the disaster of the Yule ball in fourth year, and that horrid date with Ginny at the beginning of term. I mean do all girls think kissing like that feels good? It's disgusting. I don't want some girls tongue down my throat, who would? Oh wait I know the answer to that, Ron.

Oh well, it is not that I don't like girls but with Ginny she is a little sister to me and most other girls just don't interest me. You should have seen Ron's face when I told him I did not like Ginny in _that way_. I mean you would think after him forcing his little sister on me like that he would have just said I would grow to like her and just take it as a "phase". No he went all out and punched me in the face saying I had used her, when in truth it was the other way around.

I am just not into girls at Hogwarts, I see them every day and I see them mostly as a sister or friend or nothing. I am not saying I am gay either because as of yet I have not yet been attracted to a male person either. I guess its because I know if I get close to them all that Snake-face would have to do is snap his fingers. They and their family ends up in a ditch in Surrey or Cheshire. I feel guilty even now for endangering everyone around me, I won't drag someone into this life.

Though one thought that keeps coming to mind is that my destiny is so set by fate that I will be alone for eternity. I was supposed to have friends, support, and hope in the end on my side to help me win. No, I wonder if that really is my fate, or if I am just as Malfoy if we are both doomed to death before we even learned how to say our names.

My name, my name has to have a curse on it.

I am sick of every one waiting with baited breath, for the moment when my luck, which they call talent, runs out. The Wizarding World is waiting to throw their martyr unceremoniously into the blackened, rotting, blood drenched den of ravenous wolves. I know I am being tested for this, Dumbledor has no qualms about this as it happens again and again, its an abuse I am growing tired of.

He purposely led me to the Sorcerers Stone, a mere eleven year old sent for the second time to destiny's feet, and escaping this second time from my imminent death, and in second year I was placed my fate in front of a blinded basilisk, and once again luck saved me. I spent my third year running from a supposed murderer and no one would even tell me why, in all of the fucking levels of hell, he was after me. I had to get a hint from Malfoy.

My fourth year once more befall against my will, placed before dragons and Merpeople. Then finally thrown inside a maze of death and instead of my happy demise luck had it that someone not quite a friend but not an enemy became a staring corpse, for only one reason, he was there.

'Kill the spare.'

Those words haunt me, in my sleep, in my wake. They are always there. They remind me of a certain raven and it forever chanting "Nevermore."

I tell myself it is my fault he is dead. If I had not been the righteous Gryffindor he would have lived. I could have saved him if I had been ten seconds earlier getting to the center of the maze then he could have been saved of death, that cold unforgiving creature that takes with indiscretion.

I tell myself I can save him in my nightmares, my night terrors. They have become more frequent with the absence of visions. Occlumency can not shut these out and neither can dreamless sleep potions on a regular bases, because they are extremely addictive asMmadam Pomfrey told me when I asked for a small draught of it, which she of course refused to give me. She didn't care, didn't ask why I needed it even. This school is run on denial an Lemon Drops.

Therefore, I had to make my own: potions not candy. I do not know if Snape realizes what those certain missing ingredients make. I am fairly certain he does but I do not know if he knows who is taking it. If he does, it won't matter, as he stopped questioning me months ago after a lengthy Occlumency lesson. I scorn and curse that I had let him see that.

He has seen the graves and the cauldron; he has seen my failure, which haunts me 'evermore'. They do not bother me as much as he thinks. He has seen these before and I have seen what my father did to him, but that makes us equal. He saw more that night. He saw my shame, my weakness. He saw my fat cousin and my boney aunt scurry from the room before my uncle beat me bloody on the kitchen floor and then made me clean up the mess _I_ made.

This upset that precarious balance we had. He has done the only thing I've ever had to beg him to do. He will keep this secret, that if any one knew they would pity me and I don't want their fucking pity. I don't want there hated adoration. When they don't like what I have said they will turn on me and call me insane, or call me the 'Slytherin Heir.' It wouldn't be the first time, and it won't be the last. The public is self serving and cruel.

It is a Saturday so not many are up this early as I walked to stairwells and halls to the Great Hall. I sat down at my usual spot and started to move my scarce amount of food around my plate. I wasn't hungry anymore, but if I moved it around my plate people would assume I was eating People assume pretty little lies, the truth is too disturbing.

I was about to take a gulp of my pumpkin juice when a very familiar set of gray eyes are felt on the top of my head I flinched ever so slightly I wish he would stop looking at me. I tried to ignore it he is just trying to get me to fight with him, I won't do it, I can't spend my whole life fighting trivial matters when I have to face my death daily. I looked up at the doors, which have now opened to a rush of students, and here to my disgust I see my two 'friends' hand in hand looking as if they have not a care in the world. They sit down in front of me, as if I want to see their ugly faces this time of morning. Smooching over breakfast its just gross.

"Hey mate, you doing ok there? You look like shit on a stick." Oh and the red haired baboon speaks.

"Ron!"

"I am fine I just have a bit of a stomach ache, I think ill go visit Madam Pomfrey before potions."

"Ok Harry me and 'Mione will go with you."

"No." I turn so quickly I almost loose my balance. "I am fine you two eat your breakfast and I will meet you in potions." I always have to say I am fine or that I just have a stomach ache because they are happy, I do not want to ruin that for them. Their happiness will be short lived once this war really starts. My happiness has already ended.

They are all sheep ready for slaughter, only a handful in this school can resist the imperious and only few has ever felt Crucio, I can name them on my fingers. Me, Neville, and I am almost completely sure, Malfoy. Those are similar to the list of those able to resist imperious, minus Neville. I doubt many will survive the coming months. I am just barely surviving, I admit, but the one thing that makes me feel, is ironically from another classic as is the Raven, my 'happy dagger' that line from Shakespeare was more true than any other line I have ever had the pleasure to read, though I am no Romeo.

That happy dagger gives release, it drives away the pain with pain, and it is a distraction, a painting on my marred flesh, on this mask made in my foolishness. I cut when I cannot take it any more; it has slowly become more frequent these days, an obsession. I have heard it is addictive, but the high it puts you on is like nothing else. Duplication, no matter how many drugs you use or mix, is impossible; it is release from the pain of the living, with out the death that is oh so giving. You are high on the first drag, and this term would fit oh too well.

Dragging it though your skin watching the drops of crimson-gold catch the light that then breaks it into prisms. I am beginning to wonder if maybe that is my magic, if Wizarding blood is more beautiful than any Muggles, and if wizards of pure- blood are really pure and is their blood more beautiful than my own? I don't see any difference between one wizards blood and another's or a witches blood and a wizards. All I know is that magic blood is gorgeous like a unicorns' it seems to be made or crystals or liquid jewels not of platelets and blood cells.

Maybe I cut because boys are not supposed to cry, or maybe it is because I have too much pain to cry at times and it overflows into my veins.

I walked out of the great hall knowing I had to get away from them. I thumb the edge of the knife I nicked from the table while no one was looking. I walk a few flights down and see my chance. A small room hidden behind a statue in an alcove off the main hall; no one can find me there.

Click.

The door creaks behind me; some one is standing there with horror or is that pity in their wide eyes? I realize now that I had already cut and deeper than before in my carelessness. Screaming at them to leave does no good as they walk closer, I don't have my glasses on I can't tell who it is. Then I see the figure's hair, colorless shining and soft as snow, no one has that kind of ha... no not him anyone but him.


	3. Crimson Doves

_The Maze of Mirrors_

_CHAPTER 2: Crimson Dove_

_Draco's POV_

_I woke up this morning with that feeling, I do not know how to describe it, but I know it feels wrong. I tried to ignore it I really did, and I had succeeded up until breakfast that is. It is breakfast now in fact, sitting at the Slytherin table all alone, that is until the two gorilla's and the queen bitch come and sit with me, the two imbeciles in front of me, and the whore at my side, trying to earn her pay._

_Pansy is disgusting. Why, in all of hell, does she think any one would pay for THAT? I know she only wants me because of my money and my fathers' connections of course. It's a fucking joke the only connections he has are with idiots like fudge and Voldemort, and with Voldemort all he does is crawl on his hands and knees for the bastard treated no better than that damned rat._

_"Draco darling, why..." I cut her off._

_"What the fuck have I told you, Parkinson, about calling me pet names? I am not your damned darling, now leave me alone; take the two thugs with you." Triumph, they leave, my day has just gotten better._

_I look over at Potter. I mean it to be a passing glance and nothing more. I realize he is alone, and once again, he isn't eating, just moving the small amount of food around on his plate. Well at least he is not transfiguring it as he does when the lovebirds are around. They don't even notice, oblivious twits. I know I am not the only one who notices how thin Harry has become. It seems that lately Snape has been watching the boy wonder more often than not._

_My interest peaks when I notice the reunion of the famous trio this morning, his friends seem to notice he does not look well, even when it took them more than two months to realize it. However, I have to admit he looks even worse this morning than usual. Oh, the Weasel really is stupid, he has no tact, and I mean really telling Harry right off the bat he looks like shit._

_Once again that feeling, is it despair, anger? They are not my emotions, mine are of pure hatred, right? I watch on helplessly for a moment as Potter gets up quickly, he seems to have stood a little too quickly. He regains his balance in the blink of an eye and storms out of the great hall with one hand in his pocket; my curiosity always does get the better of me. _

_I get up a couple seconds after he has left and walk out trying to follow him as he storms through the main hall until he spots a something behind a statue in a small hallway near the stairs to the dungeons. He walks behind the statue and I then realize there is a door behind there as he disappears from view. He walks in, closes the door and is removed from my view for only a minute before I open the door, and I stand their like a zombie for moments that last for hours, days. Who knows how long I stand there watching blood drip down his forearms, watching as he passes out._

_I stop my staring, as I realize what is going on. I walk over briskly, using my mask once again to cover any emotion, father says emotions are the enemy once you beat them you can rule the world. I take out my wand from my pants pocket; at this point, I am extremely glad I had been taking medic-wizard courses after school with Pomfrey. I quickly heal his lacerations; they leave a few thin silvery scars, simply because I am not yet that experienced at healing major injuries._

_I stop and take a step back, before casting innervate on the unconscious boy. He seems confused at first, and then enraged at my presence._

_"Malfoy, you mind-boggling bastard, give me back that goddamned knife you piece of shit!" Okay, enraged is an understatement._

_"Why Potter, so you can try to kill yourself again?" said with enough disgust to cover all concern._

_"I was not trying to kill my self, and besides why the fuck do you care? You, Malfoy, would probably dance on my grave if I did commit suicide." How can you be so blind? How wrong you are._

_"Because if you were to die and I were there to stop you from dying and I didn't, that would make me a murderer; something a little too much like my father." SHIT! I did not just say that. Fuck, I am so fucking screwed._

_Peeve's POV_

_Dumbledore, that batty old man, he and I get along quite famously, but I do not tell him what I see when I am not at Hogwarts. Poltergeist can leave a place; they can go anywhere, so Dumbledore sends me out as a spy. He does not know what I see when I am not sent to see. I went to see Potter once, oh yes I did, Peeves can go anywhere, and I am Peeves so I went to the Dursley's, Dumbledore knows nothing of this, and we will not tell him no Peeves wont. I might have a little raven-haired friend here in a while though, someone to torture and pick on. He does not deserve it but Peeves he teases new ghosties even Myrtle, the turtle._

_Potter, you rotter, hehehe maybe Myrtle will still share her toilet with him._

_Harry's POV_

_I wake up; I am hoping it was all a dream. Then I see him, Malfoy, he has. He has._

_"Malfoy, you ignorant bastard, give me back that goddamned knife!" I need it back, Sirius gave it to me, and I need it back._

_"Why Potter, so you can try to kill yourself again?" That jerk is messing with my mind. Is he stupid does he think I would kill my self? No, I cannot even allow my self that pleasure, because if I died then no one could destroy Voldemort, and once again, people would die because of me._

_"I was not trying to kill my self, and besides why the fuck do you care? You, Malfoy, would probably dance on my grave if I did commit suicide." It is the closest thing to truth I can think of._

_"Because if you were to die and I were there to stop you from dying and I didn't, that would make me a murderer; something a little too much like my father." What?_

_"What the hell? Just give me back my knife." He seems to freeze for a second._

_"I told you to give me a good reason to give it back, now speak." If I have said it once I said it a million times, he is a bastard._

_"Because, you bastard, Sirius gave it to me." He freezes in his smirking and I take the chance to grab the knife stash it in my pocket, and walk out to go to potions._

_Harry walked out from behind the statue, and down the stairs to his left, without ever realizing the blood stain on his left sleeve, he didn't realize it until he was already in the potions class, in the middle of making a potion by himself for his daily grade. He only realized it then because the Potions Master stood behind his shoulder and pointed it out to the entire class._

_"Mr. Potter, may I ask why your sleeve has been soaking in the blood you were supposed to use for the potion?" Harry relaxed when he realized he wasn't completely exposed. He then quickly murmured and excuse about himself being clumsy and knocking over the phial._

_The entire class seemed to except the excuse except for three people one of which had been witness to the bloodletting, and the other two who noticed the phial of tiger's blood was still standing upright and full to the brim, on the boy wonder's desk._

_One of these people was the same professor who had just realized what happened after what he had said. The other being Harry's friend Neville, who knew enough about accidents to know that his sleeve was not so completely soaked that it could have had something spilt on it._

_After potions, Harry quickly packed his bag again, and left to go to his dorm. When he reached his room, he lay down on his bed and thought for a while. He thought about how much blackmail Draco would have on him now, and he thought about what Draco said about his father. Something he had yet to think about since he heard it that morning._

_It was now lunchtime; he had fallen asleep and skipped divination after taking some of the sleeping draught he had made the night before. Neville came into the room and eyed him suspiciously before deciding to wake him for lunch._

_"Hey Harry wake up, Harry? Come on pal wake up, Harry?" Neville was beginning to panic. Normally Harry woke so easily, and when he did wake he usually screamed out 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE!' something that usually made the other boys in the dorm laugh. Neville really was panicking now, so he ran down to McGonagall's office on the first floor._

_Once he had stopped stuttering enough to tell the deputy headmistress what was going on they both hurried to Gryffindor tower. McGonagall tried everything, even innervate, to wake up Harry and he was not waking. She checked his pulse it was there but barely. She immediately fire called Madame Pomfrey, who noticed a small phial on his nightstand. They waited after the medic-witch checked the contents of the phial, and then administered the antidote to the green-eyed boy._

_When Harry woke, he woke to the site of ten or so people, professor's McGonagall, Dumbledore, his dorm mates and a furious Madame Pomfrey; it was beginning to get dark out side._

_"What have I done this time?" he was fearful that these people had figured out he was cutting._

_"That, Mr. Potter is what we would like to ask you, it has taken us hours to get you to awaken. Most in this room were fearful you had died." McGonagall was the first to speak._

_"Oh, crap, I am really sorry I had taken a sleeping draught, because I have been having insomnia the past week or so. The person- yea the man I bought it from in Hogsmeade must have made it too strong. I won't ever do that to you again." Harry had a talent for creating stories off the top of his head; it was required when living with the Dursleys._

_Draco, had been thinking for a while know about what he was going to do about this problem with Potter, he had at first thought it would be so easy to fix once he told Snape._

_Snape's POV_

_I had just settled down in my study for a drink of whiskey while I sorted out my thoughts about Potter, I knew he had been abused, severely so, at the Dursley's. That had been last year I found out; yet I still allowed Potter to go back, once again into their 'tender' care._

_I am a monster, what have I done, now Potter is cutting him self and it is my fault, I knew, I KNEW. I could have stopped it from happening again I could have saved him. Nevertheless, no, I kept my promise; I kept my damned rivalry, even after I found out how different Harry and James are. I was a damned fool._

_knock, knock_

_Ah, some brat most likely, wanting me to raise their grade. I do hope it is not Miss Parkinson she is most revolting._

_"Professor, it is me, Draco, I need to talk."_


	4. Choice of Trust

-1In The Maze of Mirrors  
by: Jenni M.

Chapter 3: Choice of trust

Draco's POV

"Professor, it is me, Draco, I need to talk." My voice wavers as I say these words. I had been standing at this very door for only the fates know how long. It has taken all of my once grand courage to even knock, let alone speak.

I feel weak, I am not weak I am a Malfoy, Malfoy's are not weak, never ever, weak. Weakness is what made me deserving of . . . not now Draco, you have to help Harry, no its Potter, Potter, Potter its Potter damn it, you weakling.

Snape's POV

I am wondering what could be wrong, Draco normally only visits on the weekend and even then never at this late an hour. As for that, his voice has a slight edge to it.

"Come in Mr. Malfoy." He enters but exceptionally grudgingly. "Sit." Not a demand, as it would be for my other students, but a simple request for my old friend's son.

"Good evening Professor Snape." Ah his sincerity is quite amusing at times, he reminds me of Potter in that aspect. I wonder if maybe that is why he is here. No matter I shall find out in a moment why he has ventured even further into the dungeons to my, chambers. Alternatively, as Potter and his dream team call it 'Snape's Lair' as amusing as it may seem to Potter's little friends, it do not think it is appropriate.

"remember Draco, you are not in front of the school, you may call me Severus if you wish, as that is what you grew up calling me."

Everyone thinks my rooms are just a smelly cave beneath the castle, but in fact, I have the nicest set of rooms in the entire castle, besides Dumbledore's that is. The nice rooms in which I live in now, once belonged to non-other that Slytherin him self. It is not that I like the man's ideals on wizards being better; I still hold a certain understanding as to why he felt this way.

When was a professor, a thousand years ago, muggles feared magic above most things; well actually the Celtics never feared magic as they were magic in and of them selves, they were the first witches and wizards in the United Kingdom. Muggleborns of that era were so afraid of magic that they would not even touch a wand; they shunned it all for Christianity. Moreover, this infuriated almost every living being in the magic world to no end. There were regular murders of muggleborns in this period, because they could not go back to the muggle world after what they had seen, mind this was before the invention of memory charms. No one ever credits Slytherins for their accomplishments.

Ah but now my mind has wondered off its course in the silence, that rained after Draco sat across from me.

"Draco, would you mind telling me why you are here? You said you had a question so speak." His eyes begin to wonder again, I need a glass of whiskey, and maybe I could offer him some as well, since he is over the age limit.

"Draco would you like a shot of whiskey, or maybe some brandy?" his eyes look out from under his fringe before he tilts his head down again staring at the carpets. He nods his hair moving slightly catching the fire light. He had stopped gelling his hair back this year, and he had also stopped his torment on the other students, something was amiss with every one this year. Draco barely speaks of his home life anymore, maybe he just doesn't want to speak to an old man like myself, though he insists thirty is not old, it still feels like I have been alive for a century.

I hand him a snifter of brandy, I sit down opposite of him in my chair, whilst he sits on the sofa. I need to get him to tell me what is wrong, so I start random chatter about other teachers, about the students, about . . .

" . . . Could Potter be anymore inapt in potions, I thought Neville was bad but . . ."

"Don't say that, Potter is actually quite good in potions, when you are not flapping behind him like an oversized bat." Since when has a Malfoy defended a Potter?

"Mr. Malfoy tell me why you came here, I don't want to play your little games, I am here to help, so goddamn it let me!" he audibly gulps and then stands and starts to pace, I remain seated as his standing above me gives him enough confidence so that he can tell me what is going on.

"Alright Severus, you want to know what is up? Here it is. This morning I followed Potter out of the great hall . . . "I give him a suspicious look, one eyebrow cocked." no Severus, it is not like that." I decide to cut him off again.

"Not like what Draco?" my smirk shows my amusement as he blushes slightly and continues.

"You know exactly like what, and don't you even pretend not to. Any ways as I was saying, and I don't think I should be telling on Potter like this but it really is for his own good."

"If you believe you are doing the right thing by telling me then continue." he looks at me sharply and continues once more.

"Snape, would you stop interrupting. Anyways this morning I followed Potter out of the great hall. One of his friends had said something to him about how he looks like crap; well actually, the word was shit. However, Potter had his hand in his pocket and looked like he was about to have a panic attack, when he got up to leave he almost lost his balance. I know you also notice how little he has been eating whether he transfigures it or just skips his meals." I nod to acknowledge this claim.

"but when I followed him he was storming through the main castle about ten yards ahead of me, and then he walked into a room behind that statue next to the stairs, you know the ugly one? Anyways he was out of my site for what could not have been more than a minute at most, and when I walked in and . . . "he chokes on his own words most likely bile.

"Draco, take a calm breath a drink and tell me what you saw." Inside panic is starting to take residence. "There now please continue." I say this after he has finished with his brandy.

"Yes sir, as I was saying what I saw when I entered the room, was . . . a complete shock to say the least. I knew Potter wasn't eating and that he looked like he wasn't sleeping but I never thought he would . . ."

"You never thought he would cut himself, did you Draco?" I finish for him.

"Yes, how did you know?" his shock is not surprising.

"I, am not a fool Draco, after I had spoken to him about the tiger's blood on his sleeve, I realized the phial was standing completely upright, not a drop of blood missing."

"Oh of course; But you didn't see what really happened; I actually had gotten rid of most of the blood on his clothes, before I woke him . . ."

"What? What do you mean you woke him, was he unconscious when you found him?" my mind swirls with questions; I know he was cutting but was he trying to kill himself?

"No, when I found him he was conscious, but he had cut deeply and a couple minutes later I snapped out of it realizing he had passed out from blood loss. I healed his wounds as well as I knew how, but I do not yet know how to replace blood lost without a potion, so I simply woke him with enervate."

Oh gods what have I done he could have died because I wouldn't tell Albus what I knew, I mean I know it would hurt him if the press were to get hold of THAT information, but he wouldn't be hurting he wouldn't have tried to . . . but did he really want to kill himself.

"Draco what did you do with the, what I am assuming is a knife?" please say he destroyed it please.

"He grabbed it back from me and walked out. He said it belonged to, someone named Sirius, he could not mean Black could he? I mean Black was a murderer, it was Black's fault he is an orphan, right?"

"Draco, before I tell you anymore I need to be sure of your loyalties, are you for or against the dark lord? I will not tell anyone what you say; but I need to know before I can speak anymore to you." I stand up and move to get another glass of whiskey for my glass ran dry far too quickly for my likings.

Draco looks confused for a moment, then he to stands but moves to go to the door to my chambers.

"Draco, I will give you time to decide, but you must know I will always consider you my son, no matter what choice you make." He closes he hand around the handle to the door, it creaks open slowly, and he is almost out the door before he even looks at me.

"Thank you Severus, I will have my decision for you tomorrow evening." With that, he is gone, and here I am, once again left to my whiskey and potions books.

Draco's POV

"Draco, I will give you time to decide, but you must know I will always consider you my son, no matter what choice you make." I am speechless I go to the door and am almost out of the door before I decide to speak.

"Thank you Severus, I will have my decision for you tomorrow evening." Once again, in the hallway, it is past curfew, but as a prefect, they allow me out of my dorm after hours. I begin walking to my rooms when I hear a small sound a few paces in front of me. I, as a prefect, have to get rid of all those out after hours.

I walk to where I hear the noise emanating, I see nothing, but I know that as a wizard there are many ways of becoming invisible. I see a small silver ripple in the air; I am guessing this to be an invisibility cloak. The only person I know who owns one would be Potter.

I feel for purchase on the fabric, as I find it I pull the cloak off what I was expecting to be Potter. It is not.

"Malfoy, umm we can explain." I bet they can.

"Weasel, Granger, just no, just that is gross, never in my life did I want to catch either of you two making out, let alone with one another." Granger's eyes tear up, and her boyfriend looks simply livid. "Anyways you two had better get back to your prefect duties, and tell Potter I said hi, he will know that is about, so do not ask." They scurry off and back in the direction of the Gryffindor dorms, though it looks more as if Granger is pulling the weasel with her.

I continue on my way to the Slytherin dorms, yelling at a few dimwitted Hufflepuffs for being out an hour after curfew, making a note to my self to tell Severus tomorrow night. My brain is so full of thought I do not know what to do. Should I tell Snape my plans of wanting to become a medi-wizard or should I lie and tell him I want to work for Voldemort, I do not know if I can trust him, and even if I can Voldemort can read minds can he not?

Screwed with every choice, so I might as well tell Severus my true intentions, and if I can trust him, I will ask if he has any suggestions as to a way to keep my father from murdering me. Would not be the first time he has murdered a child.

Harry's POV

Sitting in my dorm on my bed, I notice small scars from where I cut earlier. Why did he have to save me, if he had just left me there this morning I wouldn't have to deal with this shit and I wouldn't have to go back to the Dursley's home. It really is a laugh actually, the only way I can save myself would be if I destroyed my self, and that would in turn destroy the wizarding world; I cannot be selfish no matter how badly I need to be.

The ministry, and daily prophet would have a field day with my suicide, it would be in every newspaper across the globe. Then some one would demean it down to a simple way to get even more attention.

They do not see that I hate the cameras, the press I want to be normal and it is not possible with the jackass's running around trying to decide my future. They think they know all, too similar to Voldemort, and yet they think they are so different, too similar to Trelawney.

I have my doubts about that woman's loyalties; she is always saying I am going to die as if she wants me to, stupid cow. I can tell the future better than her, I have done it before during my exams, during the tea- reading thing, she is blind in every aspect.

Hermione and Ron come in through the door, the creaking of the centuries old hinges grating on my ears; I quickly cast a charm on it silencing its joint. Now Ron and 'Mione are looking at me strangely.

"What?" I inquire.

"Harry, you didn't pick up your wand." Shit I should have known better than to do magic without my wand in front of others. I had been able to since I was a child but now I can control it no need to use a focus that dulls my powers. Voldemort has yet to reach his full potential, because he is too reliant on his wand, like most wizards these days.

"Yea umm, sorry I will remember to use my wand from now on."

"Umm Harry, you shouldn't be able to do that, only very few can do that, and most of them are Slytherin purebloods"

"Oh, well let's just forget that ever happened . . . "I cast a small memory charm on them, only to alter that minute span of memory.

"So you guys what are you here for?" they seem confused for a second and then remember.

"Oh umm we were, you know snogging, and Malfoy caught us. We even used the invisibility cloak like you suggested. But anyways, he told us to give you a message, and said you would know what he meant." Confusion would be an understatement for my state now.

"So what is it?" I am terrified that he told them, it would be something a Malfoy would do.

"He says hi." That is it, stupid jackass probably wanted to get me worked up over nothing.

"That's it? Are you sure?" they nod.

"Ok now would you mind leaving? I have to get dressed for sleep Hermione." She nods again, and then at the door she turns around.

"What did he mean Harry?" damn know it all, why she cannot just leave me alone, is a mystery.

"I can't tell either of you that." They look hurt.

"Alright mate, but if you want my advice . . ."

"No Ron I don't want your advice just leave, or better yet I will leave so you don't have to!" I grab a small satchel off my nightstand and walk out leaving a dumbfounded pair in my wake.

They try to follow a moment later but I am already gone, I go down to the room beside the dungeons, the one place they wont look, and I walk in to the site of blood, caked on the floors, my mark staining the rugs. I cast a cleaning charm on the room. It now smells sterile, more sterile than any hospital. The blood is gone, the chairs are removed from their blankets of dust, the small fireplace, has been cleaned of its ungodly amounts of soot and ash.

This will be my haven, I cast a charm on the door it now requires a password. My choice of password is Occido; it is Latin, something very few in this school care to learn out side of their classes. They do not realize that with Latin, you can create spells, some more horrible than even the unforgivable curses.

For example, Occido, it means torture, it is a low-level form of Crucio, but with Occido it is more of mental pain, more like the Chinese water tortures, banning it by the ministry will not happen, because they do not know about it. I invented it; and the only one I had to test it on was I, I had to come up with way to counter it before I made it though; because too long under it renders you insane.

I should use it on Voldemort he would be too confused to dodge it.

I quickly transfigure a sofa into a comfortable bed, not lavish, but suitable, and better than my 'bed' at the Dursleys . . .

End of Chapter 3

Authors notes:

Anyways, I may not be writing as much for the next week, so please do not send Evil ankle biting smurfs after me okay? Yes I am talking to you kitten.

Okay here are my shout outs . . . seems that every one who has reviewed so far is in high school like me----

KittenBabyGirl- hey I am glad you like my story, and that my depiction of cutting seems accurate to you, because I thought, I was the only one to feel that way with it. Actually, I am trying to stop, but damn not many people understand how hard it is to stop . . . sort of, like Pringles really, once you pop you just can't stop. Ok now I will stop, hope you like this chapter.

Wavy avey- thanks for reviewing and everything means a lot to me, and you don't have to put a cherry on top, just let me live where you are so I could be closer to Tom Felton, him and I have the same birthday actually, except he is a year older than me.

Tewks- I will keep it up, but you have to be patient with my slow self

Brooke- hey Brooke thanks for reviewing and my new story is under my profile on the name of it is Looking for the Door. I do not like it as much as I like this one, so it might take a while for me to write more on it


	5. Broken Glass, Pins and Needles

-1In The Maze of Mirrors

by: Jenni M.

Chapter 4: Broken Glass, Pins and Needles.

Harry's POV

The hours pass by quickly; I have spent my time on the floor in front of the newly started fire. I know no one will find me here, not even that meddlesome fool Dumbledore; the reason being, I cast warding charms around the room, they probably make this room as protected as or even more so than the headmaster's office, it's self.

I have been sitting here in the warm glow from the flames, I have been trying to warm myself, my skin, even after hours in the sweat inducing heat, is chilled, icy as if some winter sprite had placed their freezing kiss upon my brow. Though I know sprites are only mythical, like elementals, anything that directly deals with the elements seems to be only in legend. That is everything except for dragons of course.

This train of thought leads me back to the dragon, which has been plaguing my existence since I first set foot in Madame Malkins. How could he, even as a child, emit such command and authority? Maybe it has something to do with being a Malfoy, or those stupid rules they have, a code of conduct.

I have over heard his talking of these to others in Slytherin house before. The rules follow as thus: Malfoy's fear nothing; they do not cry, weep, or other such nonsense. Malfoy's have a birthright to power and authority; no one dares strike a Malfoy; Malfoy's are ice, stone, we feel no pain, fear no hurt, we are unmoving and will one day rule over all. These things must have been ground into him since birth, no bloody wonder he is such an asshole.

I wonder if he has told anyone what happened earlier. Oh well no time to think of that now, I am going to go get my breakfast this morning, directly from the kitchens, even if everyone else in the castle is still sleeping.

I walk down the hall and down a flight of stairs to my right; the kitchens are much closer to my new rooms than I had thought. I tickle the damned pear and walk in, and sit down at my usual spot from the great hall above. Immediately five or six house elves come up to, me and start offering their services, but dobby and Winky shoo them off saying they are my personal elves and will not have any other elves serving me.

"Hello dobby, Winky, what was that all about?" they look up at me and dobby has a gigantic grin on his little green face.

"Dobby and Winky have been told, we is to be your personal elves now that you have your own rooms and all."

"WHAT! How could he know? How, I mean I placed wards and everything; how could the stupid piece of shit know?"

"Mr. Potter I would hope that you weren't speaking of the headmaster in such a way." Shit its Snape.

"No sir of course not, as if I would ever speak of someone who has ruined my life, in such a disrespectful manner." I say in an overly earnest manner, the sarcasm not lost on the oversized bat, I wonder if he ever sleeps.

"Of course not and by the way it was not Dumbledore that told."

"You." I accuse, he answers with a smirk. ".how could you know, and why on earth would you care?"

"I know, because I have seen three different teens this evening, two of them were running around the halls looking for you, the other I will not name but you probably can guess who I am speaking of." So he knows, Saint Mungos Mental Ward here I come.

"They were only looking for me because I walked off earlier, they probably only wanted to have solid piece of mind so they wouldn't be forced to worry about me, or at least pretend to worry about me." I scowl. "And as for Draco, I can't believe he told you what happened, it wasn't his to tell, stupid prick."

"Mr. Potter I will not have you use such language around me. And by the way Mr. Malfoy only wanted you to get help; since when have you started calling him Draco?" Shit. I stand up to leave. The edge of my vision begins going black, sparks rim what is left of my sight. My knees give out and I feel my head connect with something solid, in fact a few something solids. Warm, my head is warm and I see my eyes reflecting in red turning the green to a muddy brown, and I know no more.

Snape POV

As I go up the steps to the kitchens, I notice the door closing; I think that maybe it is one of the students, so I follow. However, as I enter I realize who it is as I hear his reaction to my orders, though most students would love to have personal elves, he probably realizes the only reason I gave him these were so Dobby and Winky would keep an eye on him, and make sure he does not do anything rash, again.

The confrontation that follows is short lived once my presence becomes apparent. I continue to engage him in conversation him accusing and despairing, me with my cruel ways. I only snap out of the usual routine as he passes out hitting his head on the edge of the table, the bench, and then finally with a sickening crack, the floor.

As I run him up to the hospital, all I can think of is how I cannot get him there fast enough.

Draco's POV

I was out on my usual morning run before the imbeciles woke. When I got back to the common room, I notice it is exceptionally busy, and whispers and loud conversations spread across the room. Then -she- comes over, that disgusting whore and the grin she wears this morning is exceptional disturbing, almost triumphant.

"Oh Drake isn't it wonderful?" I quirk an eyebrow, and she notes I am in a running suit.

"Oh, then that means you haven't heard, well it is an honor to be the first to tell you." Stupid cow why does not she just say it, brains of a puff skein really.

"What are you on about Pansy? Either tell me or get the fuck out of my way you piece of trash." Oops, did I actually say that aloud? Oh well fuck it I do not care I am a Malfoy I can say whatever I want.

"Anyways, as I was saying, Potter is in the hospital wing, it appears he won't be able to play in the game against you next week, all the Gryffindorks could come up with as a replacement was the Weasliette." Fuck.

I turn around and mumble something about forgetting something as I make haste to the hospital wing; I just have to see if he tried what I dread, I have to know he is okay. When the realization of this statement hits me, I am almost at the door to the hospital wing. I simply dropped everything I was doing for Potter, Harry fucking Potter; I could not have just done that.

Then I realize I just did.

I grab the handle and jerk the heavy oak door open. No one is in the room, though I notice that a screen pulled in front of one of the beds. My steps, towards what can only be potter, are sluggish and hesitant. My doubts mount, thoughts racing through my mind.

'What if Harry is awake? What if he hates me for what I told Snape? What if… Wait why should I care, it is only Potter after all.' However, I realize he is much more than just a name as I finally see the other side of the screen.

"Snape." I acknowledge as I see the dark man sitting in the too white surroundings. The setting seems surreal, Snape sitting like a worried father beside the bed of the Wizarding World's savior, who in and of himself looks out of place.

Tucked under white blankets, sheets, and his head resting on white pillows; Harry is very pale perhaps under the now visible layer of bruises, and lacerations that cover his face. His jet-black mop flows like water across his pillow, I did not notice until now how much he had grown it. He has a muggle I.V. in his hand.

"He seems to be a master at using glamours." Snape's voice cuts me off from these thoughts.

"Has the headmaster been informed of this?" I ask in reply.

"No, and I have no intention of letting the fool hear about it either. Madame Pomfrey agreed with me on this matter, he has less tact than even Weasley. I remember when I had a similar case with one of my Slytherins. Albus insisted on making them go through a retelling of every detail to him, as if he gets off on it or something; then he forced them to go through a trial against the very person who inflicted the pain, making them sit within ten feet of their attacker. The man is a blubbering idiot."

"Ah Severus, how is the patient doing?" Oh fucking hell, I do not think I have ever seen someone, other than Lucius, get so angry so fast.

Harry's POV

Warmth, light, noise, am I in heaven or hell?

".YOU IDIOT, YOU CAN'T MAKE HIM GO THROUGH ALL THAT!"

"Severus I may do whatever I see fit to see justice for what has been done to one of my students."

"JUSTICE, IS THAT WHAT YOU CALL THAT? THAT TORTURE YOU WOULD BE PUTTING HIM THROUGH WOULD BE LIKE RELIVING THE TORMENT A THOUSAND TIMES! AND WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT THE PRESS WHEN THEY FIND OUT?"

"He will be giving more publicity and therefore sympathy so then maybe I will be believed when I say that Voldemort has returned." I hear muttered swearing in a familiar drawl as a cool clothe is placed on my warm forehead. I feel the urge to speak and get my opinion out there for all to hear.

"Dumbledore you are a selfish bastard." I say this as I open my eyes and try to sit up, a comforting arm is placed behind my back to help me, I look up and see Draco.

"OUT I don't care if you are the headmaster you are upsetting my patient, now out before I have to curse you." Saved by the nurse once again; they leave the headmaster by far in the lead, he seems upset at loosing his pawn, aw poor asshole.

After the excitement poppy fixed me up pretty quick, or at least the visible injuries, since I had had some of the lacerations for quite a while they left scars but that's alright I have enough made by myself anyways.

Poppy's POV

"Mr. Potter? Potter? HEY ARE YOU DAFT BOY!" I reach my hand out and touch the boys should when I say the last part. The reaction is instantaneous; he scrambles to the top of the bed and hugs his knees, tears streaming down his face.

"I am sorry Dudley, Vernon please? I won't scream again I promise please!"

"Harry dear please snap out of it, you are at Hogwarts please boy?" as I say the word boy the glass cabinet behind me cracks as does the window behind Mr. Potter's bed. It has been a very long time since I have seen a student above second year that was able to perform wandless magic.

"Harry?" I ask in my most gentle voice hoping it will snap him out of it. It works and his eyes clear he looks around and cries harder I softly wrap my left arm over his shuddering shoulders while my right gives him a calming potion through the I.V.; muggle technology really makes life easier sometimes.

"Thank you again, Aunt Petunia." I jump back as he says this, it was not just a dream after all. he falls asleep before I even realize to question him.

Shout Outs--- Tewks- you are so sweet, but you are wrong I am slow; I may be smart but I can still be slow, rather sloth like really.

Wavy Avey- you are fastidious (weeee I learned a new word, or rather the meaning of the word), and I understand about being bored, my life is odd it is extremely hectic but at the same time soooo boring.

Alternativelyspliced- Thanks for the review, and do not worry I LOVE reviews.

Willow60- stop saying you aren't good at reviews, it doesn't matter how well you write them just that you are one of the few awesome people who take the time to write them.

Jes9- See Sev confronted him. anyways, thanks for the review, much appreciated.

Oh and check out my gallery http/morosemordant. 


	6. Surveys Say One out of Four

-1

In the Maze of Mirrors

By: Jenni M.

Chapter 5: Surveys Say One Out Of Four.

Poppy's POV

I fixed up the boy to the best of my abilities, at least the physical aspects; the mental state the boy is in disturbs me greatly, and as for what Dumbledore is, planning it will only bring suffering.

I am performing the last check up before he is released and with this comes a round of questions that must be answered by every abuse victim, as it is law; not that I am not anxious to know the answers to such.

In order for these questions to be legitimate I must have a witness, Dumbledore was near kicking and screaming because I would not let him be witness, I just don't trust him with this secret as I know he will likely blab it out at the trials. I chose Severus as my witness, even though he is an ex-death-eater, I know I can trust him, if only because I have seen what he does to protect his Slytherin charges, as well as how many he has forced to seek help.

He walks in at the appointed time nine o'clock, Harry has been here for almost a week while I heal various broken bones; making sure his head injuries, and blood loss have not affected him too badly.

Harry is sitting on the end of what has now been dubbed 'his bed' makes some sense this accident-prone boy should have his own bed in here.

"Ah, Severus so nice of you to join us let us begin shall we?"

Snape's POV

As we begin I notice how nervous Potter is and suggest a calming potion, he rejects saying he wishes to be fully aware of what is going on.

"Mr. Potter, this is a standard survey for those who have been abused; I want you to answer truthfully is that understood?" He nods as answer to my question. I motion for Poppy to start.

"The first question I must ask is how long have you been aware of the abuse?" he looks slightly confused.

"I don't know exactly what you mean, do you mean how long have I been abused or how long have I known it was wrong?" this is rather unexpected.

"That is a good question; I would like you to answer both please." Poppy looked down at her paper, making a few marks and then looking back at the boy expectantly.

"Well Madame Pomfrey, I have been aware of it being wrong since my second year at Hogwarts, though I had been abused since I can remember. The first incident I remember clearly though, would be when I was four- years-old and Dudley had gotten a bag of biscuits and I had been left to watch him eat them as punishment for asking for another sandwich at lunch. I remember wanting one so bad, and all of the sudden the bag split." He takes a breath and a sip of water, and then he continues.

"My uncle was in the room at the time; he had grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and pulled me from my chair and into the hall, all the while yelling at me about how much of a freak I was. I didn't know what I had done but obviously, I had done something terrible. He had smacked me across the face and thrown me in my cupboard."

"What do you mean 'your cupboard' Harry?"

"Just what I said, my cupboard, It was where I slept until I was eleven, when I got my Hogwarts letter it was addressed to ' Harry potter, cupboard under the stairs, 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.' So when I got the first letter they moved me to the smallest bedroom, or Dudley's second bedroom. I never got that letter; I didn't get any of the thousands of letters sent to me, not until Hagrid personally gave one to me." He scoffs softly.

"I shouldn't tell you this, but Hagrid tried turning Dudley into a pig, but I guess Dudley was so much like one anyways he only ended up with a tail." His laughter dies quickly as other memories come to him.

"Hagrid shouldn't have done that, because it gave Vernon more ammunition, all because they had to pay for the surgery for it to be removed. At least Petunia never hit me." The nurse's face scrunched up in concentration.

"You mentioned your aunt before Harry, can you tell me about her?" his face has a small grin, slightly humorless.

"Oh, aunt petunia is ok; she wasn't half bad when Vernon was gone. When I hadn't eaten in a while she would make me a small sandwich, and sneak it too me while I did chores, or other times when my uncle and cousin were out she would help me with my list of chores, she even gave me pain relievers when I needed them, which was often." His small sigh can barely be heard, and his smile disappearing completely.

"She was the only one in that house that understood, Dudley wasn't a nice kid never was, never will be, I remember him hitting and biting his mother, and all Vernon would do is laugh, my aunt Marge was the same way, I keep wondering if her and Vernon were twins as they both look like bearded whales." I chuckle darkly at this description, causing potter to break out of his reverie. I earned my self a glare from the nurse, as she wanted to hear more about this other aunt of Harry's.

"Harry this Aunt Marge of yours could you tell me about her."

"Oh she wasn't really my aunt she was Vernon's sister but I was forced to call her aunt; that women is vindictive. She breeds bull dogs out in the country and she comes over every few years with presents for Dudley and dog biscuits for me." I was about to ask when he answers for me.

"As I said she's vindictive, cruel, mean, take your pick. She would glare at me daring me to ask why I hadn't gotten a present, then she would have yet another reason to tell me how useless I am, she would bring her dog ripper with her when she came to privet drive. As his name suggests he is as vicious as his master, who has set him on me on more than one occasion; I still have the scars." I motion to Pomfrey that we need to stop soon nodding in agreement and continues.

"Alright Harry we are almost through just three more questions to ask you."

"I am all ears Madame Pomfrey." He answers earnestly.

"Have you ever been admitted to a muggle hospital?" he nods and then proceeds to answer.

"Yes I have once when my leg was broken after Dudley sat on it; they told the doctor that I fell out of a tree, which is what accounted for my bruises and cuts as well." Poppy nods, and continues.

"Who all would you account for as the ones to abuse you?" Harry considers for a moment then holds up three fingers, and begins to tick them off.

"First and foremost is Uncle Vernon, secondly is Dudley and last is Aunt Marge. May I go now?" We both shake our heads readying for the next question.

"The last question and then you may leave." I state with emphasis on 'then.' He nods slowly realization sinking in.

"Were you, Harry James Potter, ever at any point, sexually abused or assaulted in any way?" the cracks in the glass exploded and the glass shatters outward, and the calming potion on his bedside table has begun to boil changing from the misty lilac, to an angry red.

"Harry, could you answer Madame Pomfrey please? We won't tell anyone if you answer."

"You want the answer? Take a fucking guess. I was a good fuck that's all, blowjob machine, a whore, trash, and slut. It is what I deserve, I should have died with my parents it would have been easier, why wont any one let me die. I couldn't kill myself if I wanted the wizarding world _needs_ me. They all think I can defeat Voldemort?" I repress a flinch, Poppy doesn't. He is standing now, walking out the door after grabbing his wand. I hear the heavy doors slam. I only now realize he did wandless magic. I look at the calming potion, which was at one point boiling, it is no longer hot, but rather a block of ice, the potion turned a frosty green, in his wake.

Harry's POV

As I walk out of the door I slam it behind me, and I begin to run to my room, I give the password and grab my journal and muggle pens, a useful gift given to me by Hermione, I stuff them into a small satchel along with a few sandwiches from my bedside table. Realizing that if I were to stay that I would have to deal with Dobby and Winky, I exit.

I turn right and walk in the direction of the great hall, once there I walk out into the cool air and down the lawns to the broom shed grabbing my broom and flying over the lake until I land on a small grassy overhang. I land swiftly before I realize the ground where I sit is taken. As I am about to remount and find another place as I hear a familiar drawl.

"Stay Potter and sit a while." I turn around broom hovering beside me. Malfoy nods to the spot beside him, on his other side I notice he also has a journal, though he has to lug around quills and ink. I sit down next to him laying down my broom, and the small satchel I brought with me. We sit for a while in silence, watching the squid's tentacles skim along the surface, glowing in the light.

After a while, I become hungry having not eaten today, I grab my satchel and pull out a sandwich. Upon seeing Malfoy's face I pull out another and offer it to him.

"What kind of sandwich is this potter?" the disgust on his face hilarious because I realize he is trying to make me laugh.

"It is bologna and cheddar cheese, is there anything wrong with that?" he pulls a face.

"Yes there is, I don't eat meat unless I know what poor animal it is coming from, let alone what parts of said animal it is." I take the sandwich out of his hands, a small smile tugging on my mouth; placing my hand over the sandwich and imagine each piece changing into what I want. Finally, I finish and open my eyes to find the Draco Malfoy with his mouth hanging open in shock, I can no longer hold in my laughter.

I hand the improved sandwich to him, once I sober.

"What kind is it now?" He asks staring at it curiously. I grin at him.

"Turkey and Swiss on rye, Better your highness?" He smirks, and nods, taking a bite out of his sandwich. Once he swallows, he turns to me sandwich still in hand.

"Hey potter, how did you do that without your wand?" I shrug.

"It is just easier, and things work better without a wand." He nods and looks at his sandwich. "So Malfoy, how come you don't hate me anymore?" I ask timidly.

"I never said I didn't hate you, but the reasons I did hate you seem obsolete now that I know the truth." I look at him and raise in eyebrow in question, seeing as I am busy chewing my sandwich. "You might want to put the glamours back up."

"You and I Mr. Potter are not as different as the world would have you think." I swallow and say what I have not told even Ron and Hermione.

"Yea, I know; the sorting hat, back in first year, wanted to put me in Slytherin. I argued until it put me in Gryffindor." He looks shocked, but then his face returns to its usual neutral façade.

"Not even that potter, though you shouldn't have argued with it, it really does know best. The reason I say we are so similar, look at our backgrounds. Just because you are 'The-Boy-Who-Lived', everyone thinks your life is easy, simple. They see everything in black and white, everyone looks at me, or rather my bank account and the façade Lucius has put up and automatically they think I have it all.

When I say our lives are not that different I mean it, I may not live with your family, and you may not live with mine, but they treat us too fucking similar for there to be a difference." My shock probably shows as he grabs his own broom and proceeds to leave.

He has been gone for a while now, I don't quite know how long but the sun is high in the sky by now and I am supposed to attend afternoon classes, namely Herbology with Prof. Sprout and Potions with Prof. Snape. My glamours slam into place.

I grab my broom and mount it, pushing off the hard earth, flying across the lake and grounds and up to the window in my room. I stumble through and grab the larger satchel next to my chair and placing my books and potions ingredients in it as well as the smaller satchel, after I enlarge the bag of course. I renew the feather-light charm on it and make my way down to lunch before Herbology.

Once I reach the dining hall, I open the doors quietly and sneak through, walking over to my usual spot in front of Ron and Hermione. I notice a few pairs of eyes on me as I start to eat the food Neville and Hermione have shoveled onto my plate. Those two always make sure I eat, and today I don't have the energy to protest, so I eat as much as I can.

The eyes I noticed earlier belong to those who were present in the hospital ward, as well as the blond I talked to earlier

I get up to leave once I assure Hermione and Neville I have eaten enough, Ron is too busy talking to Seamus about Quidditch to even notice I was there. That is fine with me; I would rather be ignored than hounded for answers.

As I walk out side towards the green houses, I notice a storm approaching, clouds black and heavy with rain waiting for release. The gusts of cool winds that precede it feel like heaven against my skin, as I make the long trek to greenhouse three, it seems we will be working with mandrakes again.  
I am one of the few students there so I sit at one of the far off stools on the Gryffindor side and pull out my gloves and my textbook refreshing my memory to anything we might be covering today. Slowly the table fills and once the loud bell goes off I stop reading and look up to see Malfoy sitting across from me. Right when I am about to ask him why he left earlier Professor Sprout walks in, a big grin across her face.

"Ah welcome again to green house three my sixth year advanced students, today and next class we will be covering Bobotuber, and Mandrakes again." A groan is heard throughout the classroom, and as expected Hermione has her hand up.

"We have already covered Bobotuber plants, and Mandrake roots professor sprout." The grin Sprout wears has dimmed a bit.

"Yes I know silly girl, we are covering Mandrakes, not the roots the adolescent plant, and therefore I must place silencing charm up and ask you to wear your earmuffs, the plants will be buried today not next class though but just in case one does uproot we must make sure that no one is to be injured. Understood?" The class nods as one.

"Good, now can any one tell me why we are harvesting Bobotuber pus before we work with our mandrakes today?" Hermione, who normally is the first to raise her hand, looks confusedly at the Bobotuber plant in front of her and Ron.

I raise my hand, remembering the lesson on these particular plants we had, as well as something said in second year about the acne that adolescent mandrakes get.

"Yes Mr. Potter? " I clear my throat which has suddenly gone dry, as everyone turns to look at me. I lower my eyes hoping they'll look away.

"We are going to speed the growth of the mandrakes along, by clearing them of their acne." Her grin answers me.

"Very good five points to Gryffindor, we will be gathering the pus today and diluting it with water, next class we will be cleaning the mandrakes with it. Now off you go, get to work. Oh and the charm is specific so you can still talk." At this, she left the green house leaving us to our disgusting work, by now everyone knows how to work with Bobotuber, and that is you wear gloves get a bucket and collect the pus. The sickening squelch sound would have filled the green house were it not for the charms in place; however, no charm cast to rid the greenhouse of the heavy smell of petrol.

I grab my bucket and walk back to my work area when I realize I will be working with Malfoy.

"Hello Potter, nice day out isn't it?" as he says this, the storm broke loose overhead the chiming sound normally heard silenced as it hits the glass.

"It is beautiful." I should ask him what he meant earlier. "So why did you leave earlier? And what do you mean we are treated the same?" He looks like he is about to yell at me then sees I am just being curious, no malice there.

"I will tell you later, your friends seem intent on hearing what it is we have to say to one another." He nods his head in the direction of my side of the table, and I see what he meant, every Gryffindor in here has their gazes on us, as if trying to find reason to curse the Slytherins.

We work silently throughout class; he holds the bucket while I squeeze the plants. When the Professor returned to dismiss class, she gave the pair of us an odd smile, which for some reason made Draco turn pink.

Everyone walked to potions as a group seeing as we all had these classes together. When we got there, the door was closed and upon further inspection, we found a note telling us potions wasdelayed as our professor had some personal matters to attend to. For some reason this message, seemingly harmless, made my stomach drop, I know this is about me. I walk away and through the crowd up some stairs and into an unused corridor, I had walked all this way on my own.

I take my satchel off my shoulder and take out my journal and pen, as well as my potions kit knowing that I had a blade with me for cutting certain tough ingredients, I take the blade and study it for a moment, then run my thumb along the edge relishing in the pain and small amount blood brought forth.

I pull up my pants leg to examine at the skin that has been healed so recently, the light pink scars crossing over the pearl white ones, old scars mingle with new, and mingle with even older and wider ones of some one else's creation. I find those scars disgusting, they make me dirty, they are the ones that hurt like hell not like heaven as the ones I made do.

I take the razor sharp blade and slash across these old, old scars, cutting deeper than in the past. I mutter as I set to work on this ruined stretch of skin.

"You're a dirty whore Potter, you don't deserve their friendship, and you should have died. I wish Vernon had beaten me to death; I wish that after the first time my own uncle, or my own cousin had raped me, that they would complete the lovely job and murder me as well. I am a nothing; the wizarding world deserves a better savior, a better hero than this dirty piece of rubbish." As I mutter and the red flows my memories are jostled, the first time, or was it the hundredth time it happened.

End POV)( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )(flashback)( )( )( )( )( )(  
"YOU FREAK, JUST LIKE YOUR PARENTS, NEVER GOOD FOR ANYTHING!" Uncle Vernon's voice was booming and painfully loud. Each word separated by a kick in the stomach or a stray belt lash causing the target of this rant to scream or whimper. he screams and these ear wrenching screams fall on deaf ears, the neighbors have now grown accustomed to the screams and excepted the excuse Vernon Dursley gave them that his 'mentally unstable' nephew was having fits and that they should just ignore it to the best of their abilities.

Harry Potter the savoir of the wizarding world the cursed boy who fucking would not die... ha the thought was laughable but made Harry cry harder.

'How am I supposed to save the world when I can't even save myself god help me somebody-?'

"HELP SOMEBODY ANYBODY... "His screams diluted into pained pleading. Harry could not remember what he had done wrong but now his small body lay on the cold unforgiving tile whilst hit in every possible place his uncle's appendages could touch. 'Maybe I deserve this treatment, maybe this is what I get for Cedric's death maybe I really did kill him.'

His uncle now tired of kicking the abused form in front of him, picked up with the belt again, the buckle painfully digging into the saviors scarred back.

All the while, a completely entranced Dudley watches as his loathed cousin is beaten bloody sore and bruised. the only comfort that Harry found was that soon he would mercifully pass out... but the seconds like hours and the minutes like days hours were years of Never ending pain. Until it stopped and all that Harry could hear was the self same Vernon, walking away to a far wall leaving his son to deal with the helpless, exhausted form shivering on the kitchen floor, his skin stretched painfully across jutting bones, in a painful myriad of colors.

All that Harry heard as warning was a zipper and his pants being pulls down roughly, before the feeling of his body split in two, by what seemed like ice and fire, his cousin had been the first to penetrate him, his own cousin stole away what was never meant to be taken.

He grunted in Harry's ear, moaned loudly when he came inside his cousin, his uncle had come in front of Harry, and forced him on his knees warning him if he bit down, he would pay for it dearly. He unzipped his pants and forced the young boy to suck him off Vernon came in his mouth. Within seconds the darkness over took this bleeding form, he fell to the floor, in a merciful whim.

He had woken up in his room, his body was covered and his aunt was sitting there next to his bed, apparently Vernon and Dudley had gone out to treat them selves to some ice cream, went over to a friend's house for the evening, and left Petunia with Harry. His aunt had taken care of him until the wee hours of the morning when his uncle and cousin had returned. All the help and the bathing his aunt had helped with did no good, as Dudley and his uncle came into his room that night, and every night for the next two summers.

As Harry sat there on the cold and dust covered floor crying and bleeding arms wrapped around his shaking form. These arms felt safe, not like anyone else's, these arms smelt like cinnamon they felt warm despite how pale they were in Harry's eyes. He looked up, but knew who he would find before and for once he didn't care that it was his enemy, his opposite, his mirror, he just knew it felt right. He had found his other half, maybe Malfoy was right when he said they were not so different.

Harry snuggled further into the embrace, which shocked Draco, soon he found the dark boy asleep in his arms. Neither realized they were being watched, or that the girl watching them had a sad smile. Hermione knew they needed this, she knew they were both troubled. The problem would come when they told a certain redhead, who's attitude towards everything was that it had to fit either one category or another. He only saw things in black and white, when in reality; the world is full of grays and even a few colors here and there.


	7. Par Paris

-1In The Maze of Mirrors

by: Jenni M.

Chapter 6: Par Paris (Latin meaning- equal, like, a match)

Draco and Harry sat on the unforgiving floor for a long time, Harry drifting in and out of unsettling dreams. They basked in the warmth that cold stone could not draw away from them. After a while, they arose from their tangle of limbs realizing the blood, which lay upon them both, and the granite beneath their feet. Harry quickly willed away the blood and stains, once more surprising the Slytherin.

They were silent as they dusted them selves off; they were silent as they walked through the corridors and down a flight of stairs or two. They were silent as they reached a dark wooden door. Silent as they exchanged a glance, put up masks, and walked through said door, through the throngs of students and desks. They remained silent the entire potions class, save when they were answering the questions of the professor.

Malfoy was giving glares to all those asking where they had been, and they promptly shut up. Harry mused to himself about whether Malfoy was related to Snape or if it were just a Slytherin thing; that was until he remembered the glares that Pomfrey and McGonagall had thrown his way. This thought made him chuckle darkly for some reason, maybe it was just that the glares actually look humorous when one no longer fears a look.

If Harry said he were one of those people, he knew it would be a lie. He feared a look, but only when they were given by family, or a dementor, even though you cannot see their faces you know when they are looking at you.

If Draco had said he never feared a look, he would have lied so blatantly it was stupid. He feared a look as well; those looks he feared came from his father and his father's keeper. He feared them more than anything; when he felt those cruel cold eyes upon him, the bile would rise and his blood would freeze. Harry and he really weren't as different as everyone thought.

They were as he had thought before, a mirror image of the other. They were reflections, tricks of the light; they were a mimic of the other. They were also negatives of each other, so different and so far apart on this earth that they ended up making a full circle so different that it made them identical.

For Harry the class seemed monotonous, he found that potions had become surprisingly easy as of late, and that faking inadequacy was rather more difficult. One may have asked why he faked the lack of competency, and Harry himself could not answer, perhaps it was because he did not trust that had he shown skill his 'friends' would have ridiculed him for being like Hermione, she herself had stopped trying to be the best this year as Ron had started teasing her and mocking her intelligence.

'Most likely to make himself feel better about his stupidity-' thought Harry, '-The ass cant stand anyone being better than him, and yet his is too lazy to try and beat them, so he puts them down to his level instead of rising to theirs, or even to average.'

It was true that the youngest male Weasley's grades were below average; even Neville's were better; at least the bumbling boy tried, so the teachers still gave him credit. Ron would sit in class pretending to read but have his comics in his books. He would sneak food with him, and would take advantage of those vile candies his brothers produced last year, getting out of classes most days, and walking about or simply going back to sleep.

Hermione was quickly growing impatient with the bigoted slob she had thought herself in love with. The metaphorical honeymoon period had ended and as soon as that had happened Ron had gone back to his old disgusting self, often the cause of many fights between him and the rest of Gryffindor. Hermione had dumped him, but with him the brother of her best friend and the almost brother of Harry, she had trouble staying away from him.

So they went back out, and the honeymoon period came back for a while, he was convincing her of his change.

Nowadays he ignores Harry, he ignores Hermione unless she is willing to give him something. The strain on them is making them lash out at him when he does try to talk. Soon the break will happen and maybe it will make everything better, maybe it will make it worse, but something has got to give.

The class went on for ages, and all the while the professor never once took points from Harry or Draco, he even stayed clear of taking points from Hermione, he had seen her looking after Harry, seen her caring and her anguish at not being able to reach the boy, he had also seen Neville doing much the same, though try as he might to not take points from the blundering young man he could not help it. Though when his potion was right at the end, for the first time in history Severus Snape gave Neville Longbottom. . .

". . . Five points to Gryffindor, Mr. Longbottom." Snape ground out looking more than slightly green as he said the next. "And an excellent potion from Granger, Potter, and Malfoy, I should let you all work together more often." Ron looked slightly perturbed to say the least as he had been paired with Pansy and Goyle. Apparently Pansy like's redheads so he wasn't as upset as he normally would have been, that was until his cauldron exploded and brown muck landed on them all causing angry boils to form on their skin.

"GOYLE YOU FUCKING IDIOT!" Pansy and Ron shrieked. The others in the class laughed as the two were reprimanded by the professor.

"As I have once told Mr. Potter, I do NOT tolerate profanity, and by the way Mr. Goyle was doing what was called for next, the only reason the potion became volatile, Parkinson, Weasley, was that you had both insisted that mandarin orange peel was part of this potion. Had you read the required text, or even remembered how mandarin reacts to bats blood, you would have known that it was used in pranks made for such things as boils, and acne. Though the only reason it exploded was the addition of the rats' spleen." Snape no longer cared about favoritism, as he was enraged at the stupidity of the students now covered in boils, Goyle had been just smart enough to realize that he should duck when the putrid orange potion started to boil and spark. "Therefore, twenty points from both Gryffindor and Slytherin and detention for both Weasley and Parkinson, and next time remember we are looking for a lavender color when making a calming draft."

Snape stalked to his desk and sat down after dismissing his grinning charges. He himself had to hide the smirk which threatened its way onto his face. Though he noticed that not even this episode had made Harry, or Draco smile at all, not a grin, not even a twitch of the mouth; the small smirk he had been sporting quickly disappeared. He quickly packed away his supplies into his desk and went to the back of his room up a flight of stairs and out into a hallway that led to his chambers. He intoned the password and made his way over to his bookshelf.

The book he was after was small and worn at the edges; the cover a dark blue, Ravenclaw blue, with silvery pages, the writing on which was the same blue as the cover, but the writing was not the most important part of the book, so he thought, he never bothered to read it. Severus scanned the pages and the photos there. All were of a young girl with wavy dark red hair, her eyes a vibrant jade green similar to her sons. This was Lilly's scrapbook; she had made it for her dearest friend many years ago. She had given it to him in seventh year, not long after the engagement to James, Severus had been a little miffed by it, Ravenclaws rarely marry Gryffindors, though he would not say hurt, he had never been anything more than a good friend to Lilly Evans, though after their marriage they were still close, after Harry was born, he didn't get to see her unless they met at Diagon alley. They only met once and she told him she was worried about Voldemort. He had told her about his master's plans to get at Harry, he had warned her and in the process exposed himself, and so he went to Dumbledore and told all. That was when he trusted the old codger.

Severus quickly jotted down a note about the book, slipped it inside the silvery pages and called over his great horned owl, Aeries, he wrapped his treasure in plain brown paper and string handing it to the arrogant bird after giving the creature a treat. He opened a small window at the top of the walls and placed the bird on the ground outside he told the large fowl to give this to one Harry Potter, and the owl took off.

Severus hoped Harry would appreciate it, though he knew he would. No one ever gave Harry anything of his mothers; they always thought he would appreciate his bratty father, rather than his quiet levelheaded mother. He knew that he had far more in common with his mother than his father, even in looks. His father had been a different build and his face had been rounder than Harry's, whose build was thin and tall, his face more angular and his nose less pronounced. His mother had been cousin to Severus' mother's side. They hated each other even when they were toddlers as James had always been rather selfish and loud, where Severus was quiet and too intelligent to squabble over toys.

Harry had been sitting at the dinner table when the owl arrived, he still had his bag with him as he had not had enough energy to make it up to Gryffindor tower, and once he received the package he decided to store it so he could look at it in solitude.

The day was Friday and tomorrow everyone would leave for the holidays leaving only a handful of students behind. The only ones he knew were staying in Gryffindor were Hermione and Neville, the rest were in other years but they were few maybe three or four, he knew Ginny had decided to stay in the village with her brothers rather than return home, so she would be visiting on Christmas as were the twins.

Hermione came to sit across from him and Neville on her right, he seemed a little pink in the face, Ron sat to Hermione's left which may have been a mistake considering her mood at the moment. Next to Harry sat Seamus, on his right, and dean on his left, lavender sat next to dean talking with Ginny across from her and Pavarti was next to Harry on his right in front of Ron.

Soon a conversation was struck up about Quidditch between Dean and Seamus who were looking at each other intently blushing from time to time; Ginny was having fun speaking with Lavender about the new clothes at the shops in Hogsmeade. Neville and Hermione were trying with difficulty to get Harry to eat as his stomach growled he gave in eating a small portion of ham and a biscuit.

There was a conversation going on between Pavarti and Ron where she kept giggling and blushing , and the it happened and all hell broke loose, he kissed her hand, seems innocent enough but it was the way Ron did it that pushed all the wrong buttons for Hermione. She stood up and faced him, all conversations stopped when a resounding, well deserved smack bruised the red heads cheek.

"Ronald Weasley you are the most unbelievable bastard living, it is over." With this she hurried out of the great hall, Neville followed making sure she was alright, on his way out he punched Ron. The conversations started up slowly and Ron and Pavarti were forced to leave out of awkwardness.

The meal continued as usual, though everyone from Gryffindor was glad it was over, they felt bad for Hermione. When the meal ended everyone went back to their dorms, every one except Harry, who went to his own rooms, and dismissed the house elves who had been waiting for him. They had cleaned his rooms and turned down the sheets of his bed also keeping the fires lit and crackling brightly.

The day had been Harry's first back in the school from the hospital ward, yet it was the most eventful one in a while. Soon he was drifting into a light sleep. He had been woken an hour later by a noise right outside his rooms. Harry got up from his warm bed reluctantly and walked to his door opening it quickly.

In fell Seamus and Dean, in an almost comical heap, they looked up in shock and saw Harry, and then they looked past him at his new room, slightly in awe mostly in embarrassment.

"Seamus, Dean, what were you doing at my door?" he regarded them both. The blush and swollen mouths said it all.

"Well, we didn't see that there was a door there . . . umm. . . Harry, you wont tell and one will you?" Seamus was the first to speak in the awkwardness.

"No, I wont; I was wondering when you two would figure it out, I guess it happened while I was in the hospital wing." Harry chuckled at their embarrassment. "Well I hate to be rude, but I was sleeping when you two came, so I am going to ask you to leave so I can get some sleep." They grinned and left quickly, shutting the door with a snap behind them.

Harry quickly realized he needs a shower, his hair is beginning to get oily and he feels dirty. He takes a pair of pajama pants out of his trunk and goes to the bath room, walking over to the shower he turns the shower head on adjusting the water until it is almost too hot, he takes his clothes off and his glasses off before stepping under the scalding spray, he revels in the feel of the hot water going through his lengthening hair, the feel of the droplets running down his chest and legs. His thoughts wander aimlessly and they land on Draco, Harry's heart quickens as his thoughts take another turn, and he whimpers as memories assault him once more, he slumps against the wall of the shower and starts to scrub his skin roughly leaving red marks where his nails hit his sensitive skin, the water making his nerves raw.

He rocks back and forth as he remembers all of the times his uncle or cousin had walked in on him coming out of the shower, the pain brought him back. Harry suddenly realizes where he was, 'you are at Hogwarts, Hogwarts is safe they cannot get you here' his thoughts brought him around to normal, getting up he washes the little bit of blood on his arms, where his nails had dug deep he adds bandages. It does not occur to use magic as his mind is too busy reprimanding him for losing control.

Harry fell into a fitful sleep that night, he got up in the morning at around eight to say goodbye to his friends and to see whether Draco had left or not, though he keeps telling himself he is only worried about Draco's safety not hoping he will stay just for Harry. That day he had had a lot of time to think, and he had thought of what Draco had said prior to Herbology and now it all made sense to him.

The boy wonder had wondered why he had not figured it out sooner, everything fit now, and yet now he felt empty he had no idea how to help, he was pretty sure he wouldn't have to return to the Dursley's home, but what of Malfoy, he would have to go home and he would have to have it repeated again, 'how does he stay so calm?' Harry thought, "how does he live knowing he can't escape it?"

A/N:

Anyways here are my shout-outs I thank all those who reviewed. ----

blackcatgrl- Thank you for finally reading my stuff Maggi, and I appreciate that you liked it. darkanglefrmhell- Glad you like it.

Bludvelvetrags4363376- thank you for saying I sound beautiful and stuff and you are correct I do cut but I have not in about 2 months as I am trying to stop desperately.

Vasquaz- I am ecstatic that you say it is one of your favorites, and I love the adjective you used made me happy to have someone praise my works.

KittenBabyGirl- I hope my email answered your question adequately.

Ash Knight- It is really awesome that you reviewed I read your stories on and I loved them.

Katy Kinneas- thank you for the compliments and all blush I am really happy you liked my last chapter, and all and yes homophobes and male Dursleys must die a horrible death, either that or we put them under cruciatus until their minds turn into oatmeal.

angel74- I have updated soon, well kind of soon. I am so glad you like it.


	8. Remembering

                                       **In The Maze of Mirrors**

                                              By: Jenni M.

        Disclaimer: Okay I own nothing; I am a 15 year old. I am a minor; there is no plagiarism here at all. I am using your characters, which you cannot copy right by the way; you can only copyright your writings not the characters in them, so therefore I am completely within the law. In addition, I am making no money off this, I am doing this purely because I was bored and now people like what I write.

        To people that like what I write I thank you and my shout outs are at the end of this chapter, which has taken me a couple of days to type because I have school work to do.

Warnings follow as thus: child abuse, rape, cutting, suicidal thoughts, this chapter is a tad graphic.

For other warnings check the first 5 entries as I am too lazy to retype them for daft people every time I write a new chapter, and why should I put warnings in every chapter seeing as you already read them in the first 4 chapters and the prologue, so flame me at will I don't care anymore.

                                        Chapter 7: Remembering.

Hermione rushed out of the great hall, her hand stung from the force she had used behind the slap that had graced Ron's face. She secretly hoped that smack, in addition to the punch which Neville had bestowed on him seconds after, had broken the ass holes jaw, or at least knocked out a tooth or two.

Hermione had gone to the astronomy tower after the incident; she had wanted to be alone. Neville, after assuring she was alright and giving her a quick comforting hug had scurried off, she grinned at the blush which had crept over his features.

Hermione had sat in one of the wood chairs at the far wall of the tower, looking out through one of the vast glassless windows. She had arrived at the conclusion that this window had the best view of the lake, as well as the delicately frosted grounds. She watched, her mind swimming, as the giant squid glided aimlessly across the surface of the waters, the moon illuminated its translucent skin making the seen ethereal.

She watched the soothing scene, seemingly lost in thought; thoughts of Ron, and of the friendship which the trio had once had. Now that her mind was clearer she realized how he had broken up her and Harry's friendship, how he rejected Harry and her at the slightest transgression. 

She should have seen it sooner, he was the rat, he was the Pettigrew to there group; he had betrayed Harry in fourth year thinking him a cheat even when he himself was willing to deceive to be entered into the contest. He had betrayed Hermione over a broom and a cat in third year. How petty and childish it had seemed then, she recognized now that it had been leading up to now and the future. 

Her thoughts, rather than cleared as she had hoped, were more organized at least. Hermione stood gracefully and brushed any lingering dust from her person. She stepped through the tables and chairs littering the expansive tower, she walked down the stairs and down and up many more before reaching the seventh floor on which the commons for Gryffindor were held. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As Harry woke from his disturbed slumber, a haze still covering his mind, he remembered the events of the day before, 

'Every thing is going to hell in a nice sparkling pink hand basket.' His befuddled mind supplied. Though he was glad Hermione finally found the courage to get rid of Ron; hopefully for good, this time. Everything which could have gone wrong had gone wrong. First on his list today however was to get out of bed and wish everyone a fond farewell and some, such as Ron, a not-so-fond farewell, he still had the rest of the Weasley's on his side. 

'I think its time to ask the twin's prodigy for some help, with her sibling.' Harry dressed quickly avoiding looking in the mirror until it was necessary. He cast the necessary concealment and glamour charms on him face and visible body. He moved to the door after grabbing his smaller satchel, he planned to write in peace today though he knew peace was a relative term at Hogwarts.

On his way to the tower he passed only Colin Creevey who had noticed him sneaking by the broom closet he had converted into a darkroom. Colin snatched up his camera and photographed Harry before the boy-wonder could even protest. Afterwards he had cursed himself for being caught unawares; he continued on his course and was soon confronted with the fat lady who guards Gryffindor.

"Why hello dear, what are you doing here at such an early hour? I have not seen you in a while, how have you been child? I heard from Violet you have your own rooms now. Now tell me the password and stop stuttering darling." Harry had been trying to tell the women that he no longer knew the password.

_'Differo.'___

The portrait moved aside after a kind smile to the bumbling boy behind Harry. 

"Hi Har, I finally remembered the password isn't it great?" the boy was bouncing on the balls of his feet after they had reached the common room.

"That's really great Neville, how did you manage it?" Harry was genuinely glad for his forgetful friend.

"This time 'Mione let me make the password; she said if I made it I might not forget it so easily." Harry smiled at Neville and walked over to the beaten burgundy velvet sofa where he saw red hair and the edge of a book just over the back. Harry knew instantly it was Ginny, as her brother never read anything except for comics.

Harry walked up behind her to take a look at what she was reading, A History of Pureblood Relations. The title sounded like something Malfoy would be reading, everything comes back to him doesn't it.

"Hey Gin, what are you doing with the book?" She turned her freckled face towards the boy and grinned impertinently.

"Reading it you silly git." she said exasperatedly, flinging her hands up and hugging her friend. She had missed her almost brother more than she had even missed her real one, who had never really done anything but torment her. Ginny knew there was nothing romantic between them, she had established that with the failed attempt at dating they had made at one point the previous year.

Harry during the hug had stiffened, his body had gone rigid; his eyes becoming glassy; he buckled on the floor scurrying backwards until his back hit a corner. Harry had his arms over his head and was mumbling with tears running down his suddenly wraith-like face. His arms, which moments ago had been immaculate were covered in scars and bleeding scabs. A collective gasp rang from the three inhabitants of the room, who were suddenly glad that everyone else still slept.

Hermione was the first to act; she walked softly towards Harry realizing what was going on. She started to talk to Harry softly in a non-threatening manner; she reached her hand out to put on his shoulder like she would when her grandfather had flashbacks from the war.

The reaction was heart wrenching once her hand touched his skin, the martyr tried to push himself further into his corner and drew into an even smaller ball. His mutter grew louder until he was yelling. Ginny quickly cast a silencing charm around the room not wanting to wake the rest of the dorm. His incoherent yelling became clearer, and what they heard broke their hearts.

"NO! DON'T.... DON'T TOUCH ME, NOT AGAIN. IT HURTS... OUT... STOP... DUDLEY, VERNON STOP PLEASE..." Harry started clawing at his flesh, more blood was leaking from his wounds streaming down his arms and face, and he made a frightening visage. Neville looked positively green.

"Nev, run and get Snape!" Hermione and Ginny yelled to the nauseous boy. 

"But... why Snape?" he croaked back.

"Because he is the Potions Master, and he deals with Slytherins he has to know what to do." Hermione yelled over her back as Neville tried to protest. "Neville just GO!" The bumbling boy stumbled through the portrait and down the stairs running into both Malfoy and Snape; he kept stuttering trying to tell them what was going on.

"For God's sake Longbottom just spit it out!" Neville calmed immediately and spoke.

"Professor, Hermione sent me, its Harry he, well I don't know but there is something wrong!" Neville expelled in one breath. Neville noticed they both seemed to have paled, more so than usual anyways. The Slytherins took off at a run, their robes fluttering behind them all the way to Gryffindor tower. Neville said the password and watched as the two ran to Harry, whilst telling Hermione to get out of the way. 

The Potions Master pulled a lilac potion from his robe pocket, grateful that he had remembered it on the way out of his chambers. He had Draco hold Harry from behind while he poured the chocolate flavored liquid down the traumatized boy's throat. Harry calmed after another minute or so of struggling against the pale arms that surrounded him.

Harry sagged in Draco's arms and turned around to cry in the blonde's chest; Draco held him closer and kissed his brow stroking the savior's hair. Harry and he were both masked in crimson holding onto each other. Everyone was entranced by the sight before them, Severus snapped out of his stupor he bandaged Harry's arms and handed him a healing potion for his lesser wounds.

"Harry, you should go to the hospital wing again." Draco whispered to him, Harry just shook his head. 

"I want to stay with you." The Gryffindor mumbled into the gray sweater. The others in the room were moved by the display of affection, they had not seen the two in front of the show any real emotion in a long time, and maybe they never really had.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Everyone had gotten up and out of the common room before anyone else had woken, they had cleaned the carpets and their clothes of Harry's blood, while everyone was cleaning themselves Harry cleaned himself and recast his glamour charms; the others turned back to Harry to clean him up and he was already standing his mask in place and his facade clear of any evidence of what had just happened. It was unnerving as he did not even have is wand out.

            "Umm… Harry?" Neville asked timidly from beside Hermione. "What was that all about? You just freaked out on us." Neville muttered the last part and though everyone else had heard it clearly, all Harry could do was focus on was that Neville thought he was a freak. 

            "Harry… you okay mate?" Ginny asked when she saw her friends mask slip slightly. The raw emotion in his eyes frightened her, but it wasn't fear for herself it was fear and worry for the sanity of the raven haired boy in front of her. Draco saw the approaching conflict as well as the fear and hurt behind Harry's eyes.

"Harry, Neville here is just wondering why you reacted so to the hug Ginny. Calm down Harry. Please?" Draco added the last hoping it would stop the small outburst of raw energy that was emanating from the boy in front of him. Harry had his eyes close and was trying to stop his emotions, a war inside trying to make its way out fighting with himself, and emotions had caused more anger, building in a crescendo, louder and louder inside his head more and more power without as his inner walls began to crumble again as his mind began to claw its way out. 

At the word 'please' Harry's jaded eyes snapped opened standing in bas relief against the blue tinge his skin had taken on. The fire had burst to life and yet the air was frigid, their breath forming miniscule clouds in front of them, Harry seemed to be turning an icy blue but he still seemed to be giving off waves upon waves of heat. 

"_Please _don't make me say that you would be disgusted just leave me alone, I already knew I was a freak, just _please_ LEAVE ME ALONE!" Everyone jumped back from the tendrils of energy surrounding their friend, they all knew he was powerful but this was more magic displayed than even Dumbledore could possess, this was why everyone wanted Harry, either dead, or on their side. 

While pondering the enormity of the situation, Harry's friends had not realized that he had run out through the portrait. Snape however while standing in the background had noticed and pushed Draco into action both in a flat out run against time trying to save the wraith who was sprinting though the corridors at a blinding speed, tears coursing down his face and invisible blood running down his arms and legs only to reappear as it splattered the dust blanketed corridors.

'This is becoming redundant." Harry thought darkly as he continued on his path, not really knowing where he was going, but knowing he had to get away from others. He had to stop being such a freak; he wondered why anyone put up with him at all.

With blood pounding in his ears, a sickening counter rhythm to the clapping of his shoes on the ancient stone, Harry ran he ran until he caught sight of the wall opposite the room of requirements. Stalking quickly back and forth three times in front of it not really focusing on anything, Harry heaved open the ancient heavy door which had appeared.

A/N: If this chapter sucked I am sorry, I have been having a creative block in visual as well as linguistic art. I apologize for the cliff hanger I don't know why but I can't seem to write anything that doesn't end up a cliffy.

Okay please review and here are my shout-outs I thank all those who reviewed. 

Pip3- Glad you couldn't wait for more, and by the way I went to your website it is very good.

Jes9- You are such a loyal reviewer, I love that and I love how nice you are and that you have taken the time to review both stories I have written. Personally I think my story sucks but I do that in all my art classes and things as well. But I am glad you love it, I also understand what you mean about those stories where there isn't a reason behind the change its just really flipping random. Hope you like this chapter I may have another up soon but that all depends on how much homework I have.

Dwadwadwa()- Glad you like my writing and I'm also really happy you reviewed my other story I am trying to finish a second chapter but I'm kind of stuck on it.


	9. Lost in Thought

**In The Maze of Mirrors**  
  
By: Jenni M.  
  
Disclaimer: Okay I own nothing; I am a 15 year old. I am a minor; there is no plagiarism here at all. I am using your characters, which you cannot copy right by the way; you can only copyright your writings not the characters in them, so therefore I am completely within the law. In addition, I am making no money off this, I am doing this purely because I was bored and now people like what I write.  
  
To people that like what I write I thank you and my shout outs are at the end of this chapter, which has taken me a couple of days to type because I have school work to do.  
  
_Warnings follow as thus: child abuse, rape, cutting, suicidal thoughts, this chapter is a tad graphic.  
_  
For other warnings check the first 5 entries as I am too lazy to retype them for daft people every time I write a new chapter, and why should I put warnings in every chapter seeing as you already read them in the first 4 chapters and the prologue, so flame me at will I don't care anymore.  
  
**Chapter 8: Lost in Thought.**  
  
Silver was the color of the thing that kept him sane. The knife in his hand was silver too, but it was a small consolation compared to the silver thing in his heart. Draco was his salvation, the silver lining on the darkened sky, he was his cure and yet his disease in a way.  
  
Sanity comes and goes--waxing and waning and turning the one whom it has cursed into a monster for a while. This was Harry's life--full of moons and silver and glimpses of sanity and salvation as it came to him. Yes, Harry had been abused and beaten, and yes, he had been raped; but sometimes it all seemed okay, like he was normal--well, normal for the wizarding martyr, anyway; this was how he felt at Hogwarts, or how he used to feel. Vernon had truthfully ruined the one place where he felt safe.  
  
It was foolish, he realized now, to think that he could ever escape the memories in his head. Harry had thought if he pretended they did not exist they would dissipate and leave him be, but he was wrong--they only festered and worsened, causing his unstable mind to slip further away and his mask to rake place of his being. His demeanor went from kind to frigid in a second, mirrors and glamours slamming into place.  
  
Harry was sixteen years old, but his mind had been defiled and aged so far beyond his time that it was debatable whether he had seen more than Nicolas Flamel had. Life for Harry had never been easy or simple, as the press would have it seem. A certain bug-eyed reporter had made it seem like the worst thing to ever happen to Harry was to loose his parents. She was wrong--the moment when he lost his parents was not the worst moment. It was one of hundreds, but it was the beginning of it all.  
  
As Harry reached for the door, his mind remained blank. His mutilated hands heaved open the door to the room of requirements, the light from it blinded him for a moment as it contrasted so heavily to the dark corridors of the rest of Hogwarts. As the light quickly faded Harry's vision became slightly clearer, Harry stepped into his bedroom at the Dursley's.  
  
The dank room smelt familiar and calmed him--he knew that this was not real, so Vernon could not possibly ruin this for him. Harry sat next to his bed and crawled under to the loose floorboard where he knew he would find his cousin's pills. Harry had stolen Dudley's anti-depressants, at the beginning of summer, and hid them here so he would not be punished. He did not see why the bully needed this Prozac anyway.  
  
Harry unscrewed the cap of the little orange bottle and quickly swallowed a few of the small pills. He went to stand when a flash of light caught his eye. Harry crawled back under the bed and pulled out the razor that had caught his eye. He studied the small instrument, turning it; letting the light catch, the edge of the blood rusted silver.  
  
"Stainless silver my ass." Harry scoffed at the mud-like stains. Bringing the tarnished edge down on his arm, Harry relished the feeling of the stinging cold cutting through his taught nerves and skin. He did not cut too deeply --remembering what had happened last time.  
  
Harry's ears picked up the sound of a door shutting far off in the distance and the thump and creak of some one heavy heading upstairs. Had he heard it? Surely, he was not going mad. Suddenly the door opened and Harry's cousin Dudley saw that Harry was there.  
  
Dudley stammered, and then a smile broke out on his piggy face. Harry stood shakily, his mind racing--no, this could not be happening--he was at Hogwarts--he was in the room of requirements. 'It gives you what ever you are thinking about,' his mind supplied.  
  
Harry was not thinking when he walked past, he was remembering. It hit him--it gives you what you think about, and it takes you there as well. Harry would have bet all his galleons that that's what the door did to him. However, Harry wasn't in a position to bet, his cousin had called his uncle from the doorway.  
  
"Dad, Dad Potters back, I found him in his room!" Dudley yelled down the stairs.  
  
'RUN YOU FOOL!' his mind screamed, but his body would not move, could not move--standing in front of him were the two who had caused him more misery than anyone could imagine. Harry was frozen to the spot, terrified; his uncle's speech did little to quell this fear.  
  
"You ungrateful son of a bitch, thinking we would want rubbish like you back in our home. What did the madhouse finally chuck you out boy, did they finally see how useless and powerless you are!?" Harry stood dumbly on his quaking legs, his mouth so dry he couldn't speak, could not save himself from what was about to happen.  
  
Before Harry could utter a word he was struck hard across his face; a definite crack resounded in his skull as his jaw was broken from the force of the blow. Harry stumbled backwards his knees connecting with the edge of the bed making him fall back his cousin took the opportunity by straddling him, his weight crushing the thin boy below him. Harry groaned under the weight, as did his bed. Before Harry had time to fight back, his uncle had tied his arms above his head.  
  
Harry was immobile and his mind was frozen. As much of his clothes were removed as possible, his shirt and robe were pulled up above his stomach. Harry didn't remember when he had started crying but his face was soaked with tears as he was thrown in and out of memories and his present torture.  
  
By the time Harry heard it, the sound of a belt buckle, he had been turned from a pale boy into the bloodied blackened wraith he once was. Harry's skin was shining from perspiration and blood; he was unrecognizable. The belt buckle made a swift whistling sound and the metal bit into his chest and neck the black leather leaving long red welts. A burning was coming from the marks as hit uncle hit him again and again, his son with his hand in his pants awaiting what was bound to come sooner or later.  
  
Then it stopped and the silence was more terrifying than the whistling the clatter of metal and the thud of fists on soft flesh, the silence of Harry's screams were caused by his fear of the unknown...  
  
Draco's POV  
  
Step after step, leaping down stairs at a dangerous pace, Draco made his way through the castle following the river of blood, splattered wastefully on the old stones. Ahead of him, he caught glimpses of the one he was trying desperately to find. Draco's legs stung with the effort, trying to keep up with the wraith that seemingly disappears into walls.  
  
Draco saw the blood splatter three times over in this small corridor, rarely used and dusty. Draco was loosing hope as the blood disappeared into the wall opposite a strange tapestry; the force of his memories jogging made the blond physically jump. Room of Requirements, feeling foolish but hopeful Draco ran back and forth three times; a door, old, dark, and heavy appeared.  
  
The handle appeared rusted with age, but as pale hand clasped the reddened material, they came back in shock, soaked in blood that seemed to spark and glitter in the dim flicker cast by the torches set upon the walls. Ignoring the twinge of guilt in his stomach Draco reached for the handle again ignoring the slippery warms beneath his palm.  
  
The light from the door once again was forced upon the dark corridors; sparks flew before Draco's eyes as he ignored the light and rushed forward thinking of Harry.  
  
_AN: Okay I understand hat no one likes cliffhangers but this was nessessary, plus I also realize this is a very short chapter, and for that I apologize, now for shout outs, I had a lot of reviews so this may take a moment.  
  
SHOUT-OUTS!!! tarrandivinity You reviewed twice and I thank you so much for doing so. I am estatic that you like my portrayal of Poppy, and I am flattered that you are impressed by my humble fic, and see I wrote another chapter very quickly. Actually I had most of it written except the last page because I wasn't sure it would work with my master plan to put it in this chapter.  
  
texasjeanette I am thrilled you like harry and everything, tortured powerful harry is my fave too (kind of a 'no duh' thing isn't it?) I posted again took a while since both my pc and my laptop had crashed, I had another chapter written for my other story and it got deleted cries brokenly looking at the rubbish that was once a prize chapter oh well the answers to your questions will appear eventually, I have a master plan but most of it is me winging it and b.s-ing my way through.  
  
ManicReversed yay I love him too hugs doll made to look like a bleeding harry okay now you have a small glypse into my mind, not much that's the light stuff. Anyways I am glad you read, and approve of this .  
  
POtASSiUM xx sorry about the 'I mean' stuff I do that a lot in real life and I finally stopped doing that the phrase 'I mean' stops showing up that often after the second chapter (I was half asleep writing that anyways can you blame me for my repetiveness?) hope you liked the rest of it  
  
jes9 YAY Jes my most faithful reviewer, I have come to love your reviews and I am so happy you like the last chapter I am flattered you like how I wrote all the characters, snape is a bitch to write maybe its that drama queen attitude he gets? I am a slyth as well and I am glad you see the loyalty aspect they have, most of my friends would be in the other houses mostly hufflepuff and Gryffindor, though my best of friends are slytherin and ravenclaw people who can have an intelligent conversation and who know when to leave me be.  
  
Elebereth glad you don't think my chapter sucks, I didn't like it, I don't even like this one but that's okay. Sorry about the cliffys but they build suspense so well don't ya think?  
  
Kalinta glad you like my harry, and I agree with your view on the books, I like harry best in the fifth and third book he is the most sullen and tormented those are also the darkest books in my opinion I mean the 4th ones ok but it all takes place in a vacuum kind of.  
  
anna may glad I can still shock strangers, my life still has meaning. I scared a stranger the other day I glared then broke out in a smile it was great I couldn't hold back the evil laugh at the look on their face.  
  
sak glad you look forward to more, and I am glad you like the progression, tension, and drama.  
  
blackcatgrl hey magi, glad you reviewed again, and you are write it is good to re-read even if I let you read everything before it gets on the computer, you have an advantage by going to school with me.  
  
Ash Knight yay you reviewed again, im glad you like it and everything and I am sorry about chapters being too short but I have like 5 projects due and exams so you'll have to forgive. Love what you wrote about flames and burning out, its too true.  
  
Okay that's all for now I am soo happy for the last chapter I received 10 reviews plus another for chapter 6, I am soooo happy I don't think I can hold back a grin grins widely strangers look confused. okay well that's al folks hope you enjoyed.  
  
Jenni (MyGildedCage) _


	10. Little Hypocrits

**In The Maze of Mirrors**  
  
By: Jenni M.  
  
_Disclaimer: Okay I own nothing; I am a 15 year old. I am a minor; there is no plagiarism here at all. I am using your characters, which you cannot copy right by the way; you can only copyright your writings not the characters in them, so therefore I am completely within the law. In addition, I am making no money off this, I am doing this purely because I was bored and now people like what I write.  
  
To people that like what I write I thank you and my shout outs are at the end of this chapter, which has taken me a couple of days to type because I have school work to do.  
  
Warnings follow as thus: child abuse, rape, cutting, suicidal thoughts, this chapter is graphic.  
  
For other warnings check the first 5 entries as I am too lazy to retype them for daft people every time I write a new chapter, and why should I put warnings in every chapter seeing as you already read them in the first 4 chapters and the prologue, so flame me at will I don't care anymore.  
_  
**Chapter 9: Little Hypocrites**.  
  
'Please be okay, Harry, don't leave me--I can't live without you...' Draco thought desperately as he charged forward though the blinding light. He covered his eyes as he did so, and as soon as the light reseeded from his vision, he opened them.  
  
The sight and stench from this small room was unbearable: the tinge of metal, the smell of blood, sweat and the all-too-familiar scent of rape filled Draco's nostrils as tears sprung to his eyes. Lying on a small cot- like bed was his Harry, pinned viciously between the mattress and Harry's cousin; his screams muffled by the offensive beast in his mouth.  
  
Draco wanted to vomit, to cry, and to scream his lungs out; instead, he felt frozen, looking onward his beloved enemy was forced violently open at every angle, ripped apart--lacerations must have covered almost all of him. Harry's thin, mutilated form had given up the fight on his blood-soaked bed.  
  
The young Malfoy was beyond grateful that he had his wand: it had an unplottable charm on it, so that no one would be the wiser if he murdered these filthy pigs.  
  
"STUPIFY!" The offenders froze; without balance, Harry's uncle fell off his face and onto the floorboards. Harry whimpered as Dudley froze and tried to push the whale off him, his frail arms shaking from the effort.  
  
"WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!" The blond yelled pulling Harry's cousin off and out of him. Draco disgusted by the blood-covered hard-on the whale had, had the urge to cut it off just so Harry would not have to hurt again.  
  
Draco stepped forward towards Harry, wanting to hug him and make it better. his foot caught on an odd little orange bottle--he pocketed it quickly and then made his way to him as Harry finally passed out, whether it be from pain, fear, or exhaustion, Draco wasn't sure; perhaps all three. No matter, this made things easier.  
  
Pulling off his heavy cloak, Draco covered the tortured boy before him, picking him up gently under the crook of his knees and neck. The body in his arms weighed nothing, scarred beyond words--the blonde-haired person carried the emaciated form out of the room and down the stairs casting a locking charm on the door to keep the vile creatures from escaping justice.  
  
At the bottom of the stairs, he met the form of a thin woman, sitting on the last step weeping. When she looked up her face became visible, the undersides of her eyes black and her lip swollen. Upon seeing Harry, she stood quickly, silent tears running down her bony face as she ran from the room and screamed at Draco to lay him on the sofa.  
  
Petunia came back with a small box with a large red cross on the lid. Upon opening the inside was much larger than it appeared, it was filled to the brim with potions and salves all labeled in a tidy script. Draco looked at the muggle carefully and searchingly as he grabbed as many of the vials as he could.  
  
"Squib," explained the woman quietly. Draco continued reading the labels; finally, he chose the ones that would work best together and tilted Harry's head back and off the sofa. One by one, he fed Harry the potions, rubbing his throat in attempt to get the wraith to swallow.  
  
Harry's aunt watched in awe as he worked with tender care. After a while, she also grabbed a small pouch out of the bottom of the box, throwing a handful of the sandy substance into the fireplace. She grabbed her purse and a change of clothes as Draco tried in vain to wake Harry up. Even enervate was not working.  
  
Draco pulled Harry into his embrace and up from the couch; carried across the room, where he and his saviors exited the tidy house--with the neat garden and perfect family--through the floo network.  
  
"HOGWARTS INFIRMARY!" they yelled out as they stepped into the jade flames.  
  
Fin J/k I am just changing scenes not ending the story.  
  
Draco tried to stay calm. After handing the empty bottle to Madame Pomfrey, Draco had left the infirmary no longer able to look on as they put his angel on a respirator and placed in a coma. The nurse from St. Mungo's said it was the only option left: Harry was not healing, and all spells cast on him failed.  
  
Many thanked Draco and petunia repeatedly. Snape said if Draco had not administered those potions when he had... well, Draco would not think about that. He was at a loss and had stopped eating and sleeping: spending all of his time worrying and remembering.  
  
Draco could no longer pretend his problems did not exist; he could not bury memories anymore. It had been so long since he had let himself feel, and everything was building up. Seeing Harry like this only made the memories push harder into his conscious mind, Draco did not want to remember his past, or his father. Could he even think of Lucius as his father after the things he had done?  
  
Draco had not cut himself in a long time, he focused more on Harry's problems but the stress was becoming too much and the penknife in his pocket was tempting him.  
  
'No one would know right, just a few little cuts and no one would be the wiser?' Draco thought anxiously as he looked down at the shining blade it winked at him as it caught the light. Draco pulled up the sleeve of his robe and brought the edge down to the inside of his arm-slicing horizontal across his forearm. He gasped at the sensation relishing in the forgotten form of release remembering how good it could feel to be distracted.  
  
"Mr. Malfoy you should..." Snape said as he rounded the corner seeing the familiar blond hair, he stopped at the sight of blood dripping slowly and steadily down pale arms. Malfoy froze and looked up tears shining unshed in his eyes as he struggled to pull his mask back up.  
  
"Now Severus it's not what it looks like, it just slipped." Snape chuckled at the excuse. "Don't tell anyone please!"  
  
"Draco, I won't tell anyone. Why didn't you come to me first, why did you let it get so bad?" Draco's mentor wrapped his arms loosely around his shaking shoulders, all the while saying he was sorry for leaving Draco with that monster. Draco remained tense for a long time he was not used to such care he had expected mocking, and threats of going to Lucius. Draco broke down and cried for a long time clinging to the man he though of as a second father.  
  
After a while Draco calmed and looked ashamedly at his arm and the scars which lined it. He looked angrily at the ones on his wrists; he remembered all too clearly, why they lined the cuffs of his robes.  
  
It had been the third week of summer before his father had come home from his 'business' trip. He remembered being in his room doing his transfiguration homework when his father had thrown open the door to his room, his face set in a menacing glare. Draco had been lying on his bed as it was almost midnight.  
  
His father had somehow found out he was gay, probably from that Parkinson bitch, Draco himself hadn't even known he was gay at that point the whore had probably made it up vindictively after he had turned her down the previous month.  
  
That was the first night his father had done anymore than beat him, Draco had woken the next morning sore and bleeding his bones protested as he moved, ribs mostly bruised a few snapped like twigs. That night he had had all innocence and hope taken from him, he had decided that he would rather die than have that happen to him again, how in the hell could he have just sat there and taken it, he had been such a useless weakling letting his father take him.  
  
That was the night he took this same penknife to his wrists, his mother had healed him with an air of sadness, she knew too well how Lucius was and if it weren't for arranged marriage she would have lived much happier, but she would marry him again if only so she could have Draco.  
  
The younger Malfoy snapped out of his reverie when a cool sensation washed over his arm, he looked down to see them sealed shut leaving only pink scars.  
  
"You are lucky this wasn't too deep." Draco nodded ashamed at his weakness; he was drowning in memories when yelling echoed through the halls jolting him and the potions master upright and in a sprint towards the sound, the infirmary.  
  
When they reached the heavy doors Draco threw them open, he ran forward towards Harry's bed while Snape ran towards the nurse. She was obviously the source of the shrieking. What surprised them most was the site of whom the yelling was directed towards.  
  
"GET OUT ALBUS BEFORE I CURSE YOU MYSELF!" Severus screamed as he saw what Albus had done, he was trying to get Harry out of his coma, and he was beginning to succeed.  
  
"But I need him awake to set up the trials and we need his testimony of what happened today" the old man whined at Snape, who was close to cast several unforgivables at the moment.  
  
"What gives you the fucking right to wake him up, he needs to heal!" Draco said behind the three. As he said this, the headmaster turned his eyes angrily on the younger Slytherin.  
  
"What would you know Malfoy; you think you know everything just like your father." Dumbledore said angrily, knowing what exactly Draco's father really was; it was the last straw.  
  
Almost as soon as the words left his mouth Albus realized his mistake, the candles suddenly flickered violently, the doors and windows shaking with force enough to rip a few off of their hinges, Severus watched on in amusement as the headmasters wet himself.  
  
"You do not have the right, old man, to say anything about my father, I suggest you leave now."  
  
'Silly incontinent old fool!' Snape thought with amusement as the headmaster fled the room  
  
Soon after the doors and windows quickly fixed as Draco apologized for his outbursts. Everyone had a good laugh at the headmaster's expense. Everyone soon settled into chairs around Harry's bed, not more than an hour later those who had bore witness to the events in the common room joined them, as well as the twins who brought a bag full of goodies and tricks and placed them next to Harry's bed both looking sullen.  
  
They were all quickly informed of what happened to Harry and what had happened afterwards when the headmaster had arrived, the twins laughed briefly at the thought of such a great man wetting himself over a sixth year student.  
  
They all sat around Harry only Draco had the nerve to sit on the bed with the traumatized boy, he held his hand for a long while even after everyone else left, even after arguing with Pomfrey about staying all night. She seemed to understand though her argument was short lived, she told the blond boy to inform her of any change.  
  
Long hours passed as Draco lay on the bed he had pulled next to Harry's, the hospital room was silent, only the sounds of the occasional owl reached his ears, moon beams lay across Harry, whose hair was gleaming as it cascaded over his pillow. Draco felt the urge to touch it, it had grown long over the summer and the past few months, he hadn't really noticed the now shoulder length hair until now; the pureblood ran his pale fingers through the black silk-like threads, his hand running through it like water.  
  
As his fingers brushed Harry's forehead there was an electric shock, sparks of gold and green surrounded Harry as his pale body rose from the bed.  
  
Harry could not decide where he was, or how long he had been there. He was warm and he felt rested but somewhere in the infinite dark was something menacing, something that lurked at the edge of his vision but stayed away from the light surrounding him, the soft gold and green sparks that moved in the air like fireflies around him.  
  
Harry looked down at his hands and body, so many scars. Every inch on his forearms were an angry red, his legs and stomach much the same, a few of the yellow bruises remain from his last visit to the hospital wing. Harry felt dirty, these scars, mostly made by his uncle, made him this way; he wanted them gone.  
  
Harry did not have his wand with him, maybe he should have been upset by that, he could not be upset when he still had wandless magic. Harry concentrated on the marred skin on his arms and thought of the sparks collecting and melding with his skin, smoothing it out, he focused on the rest of his scars and thought of the same thing. When Harry thought of how dirty his uncle and cousin had made him the sparks multiplied a hundred fold and covered his entire body. His skin burned for a second then felt like ice, electric shock running through his extremities as he healed. When it stopped, Harry felt odd, he still felt dirty, but it no longer hurt to exist.  
  
Draco watched in awe as Harry healed, his scars and lacerations melting away before his eyes, he called to the matron in his loudest voice, seconds later heels could be heard clicking as Madam Pomfrey ran towards the hospital wing, she pushed the doors open and began walking towards Harry's bed, when she looked up she froze.  
  
She stood there staring as the broken body mended, small tears of joy leaking from her eyes and a smile playing at her lips as she rushed over and hugged the young Malfoy thanking him for whatever he had done.  
  
_A/N: Okay I know everyone is sick on me making cliff hangers but I really cant help it, how else am I to get you all hooked? If any of you want to see my artwork you can go and more are located here I know this chapter was odd I do not like it much but I never like the stuff I do. I also realize it has been forever and a day since I updated, and I apologize but with end of year exams and all that craziness, I could not write any quicker.  
  
Here are my Shout-outs if I only mention you name I am sorry, but I can't always think of a reply.  
  
Blackcatgrl- Aw thanks Maggi, I do not know about being better than J.K but I will hopefully, one day, be able to publish my own works (that is if my brain cooperates)  
  
Ash Knight- Glad I was able to make you fall in love with it twice that makes my day. I have not been able to read much but I will read and review your story as soon as I can.  
  
?????? – I am glad you like it; I updated as soon as possible, happy?  
  
Texasjeanette- I updated as soon as possible, these questions will eventually be answered, and though Harry may be physically healed he has a long way to go yet, herm and nev will be getting together, I don't normally like pairing up people like them but it worked they should keep each other balanced overly smart and overly clumsy.  
  
Elerbereth- thanks yea I am sorry about that chap being short I could not think of any other way to end it, and I was afraid of being lynched if I did not update soon.  
  
DreamingToThis- Glad you finally read it, and that I made you somewhat speechless, also thanks for the review and saying I was on your favorites, cliff hangers wont be that bad because since it is summer I should be able to update more often, operative word being should be.  
  
ImortalLove9- Right- O!  
  
Katy Kinneas- Glad you liked. _


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